Ahead of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year, the future of New Order, or at least the makeup of the group, has been cast into doubt as the band announced yesterday (June 29) that drummer Stephen Morris and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert will not be performing live for the foreseeable future “due to personal health reasons”. Founding bassist Peter Hook, who left the band in 2007 and has been involved in an ongoing dispute with Gilbert, Morris and frontman Bernard Sumner, had previously speculated that Sumner had plans to continue performing as the only original member of the group, who formed after the suicide of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in 1980.
“Barney is touring in New Order on his own this year, because Stephen and Gillian have left, that’s what I’ve heard,” Hook told YouTube show Rock Daydream Nation. “So now Barney is New Order. Which is quite interesting. He’s actually booked a gig in Chile that he will be playing as the only member of New Order, which is quite rich.”
This November 14, the latest round of inductions to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be celebrated at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. It’s something of a UK-leaning intake this year, with Oasis, Iron Maiden, Sade, Phil Collins and Billy Idol among the honourees alongside the Manchester band dually billed as Joy Division/New Order.
“Is it deserved?” Hook said to MOJO’s Ian Harrison last month of their induction. “Without a shadow of a doubt! The fact both bands are there is perfect, otherwise you’d only get half the story. Joy Division has been the bedrock of everything we’ve ever done, and to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes to what we achieved as New Order… those 10 years from 1980 to 1990 were absolutely golden. It’s a hell of a discography, and I still have a great belief in the music.”
The epochal post-punk intensity of Joy Division and New Order’s innovative synthesis of rock and electronics does indeed make for a remarkable body of work. For their part, Hook’s now-estranged partners Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris released a joint statement about the induction which read, “This accolade reflects the resilience across nearly five decades that has defined our path alongside our fans, our collaborators and those sadly no longer with us.”
“This achievement is more about the fans than it is about us, to be honest,” says Hook. “Throughout both bands the fans have stuck with us, however much we’ve embarrassed or humiliated ourselves.”
Following his departure from the group in 2007 Hook has led The Light since 2010 and performs both Joy Division and New Order material live. In 2015 he brought a legal case against his former bandmates, who reunited as New Order without him in 2011 (they settled out of court in 2017). As all four original members will be present in LA in November, MOJO can’t help but mention that it is customary for inductees to get together and play a song or three on the night.
“Fans like to think that you were like [British comedy duo] Morecambe And Wise – that we all lived in a flat above The Haçienda and we shared a bed,” says Hook. “The answer is, no, I will never play with them again. I’d rather die than play with them three… what they did to me and my family when they took the name, it was terrible… you have to have morals in this world, and if I let my morals slip, I don’t think people will think better of me. The nicest thing about getting out of New Order was that I could tell the fucking truth, because I lived a lie for so long to maintain the status quo… it saps your soul.”
Hook intends to give his side of the story, again, in a new memoir – his fourth Joy Division/New Order book – about “that legal battle… I’ve got to finish that bastard. The trouble is it’s so fucking miserable.” Other activities include plans for a statue of Factory Records magnate Tony Wilson in Manchester and a statue of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, who will also be inducted, in Macclesfield (Hook adds that the memorial to late manager Rob Gretton was The Haçienda club). “You live with these people all the time,” says Hook. “It’s like being surrounded by friendly ghosts.”
What would Ian Curtis make of it all?
“I think he’d absolutely love it… but who knows?”
See rockhall.com for more information on this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
This article appears in the July issue of MOJO Magazine. Featuring a world-exclusive interview with Paul McCartney, King Crimson, Throwing Muses, Cream, Rickie Lee Jones, Spencer Davis Group, a CD of Can rarities handpicked by Irmin Schmidt, and more! More info and to order a copy HERE!
