As bass player in not one but two legendary bands, Peter Hook is still going strong after nearly 30 years as a professional musician. Since leaving New Order on acrimonious terms in 2007 he’s been touring as Peter Hook and The Light, first revisiting the albums of his first group Joy Division. Tonight he plays the Tramshed in Cardiff, performing New Order’s third and fourth albums Low-Life and Brotherhood in their entirety as well as a mix of classic songs from both bands. Buzz caught up with Hooky over the phone.
Hi Peter. So Cardiff has a significant part in the story of Peter Hook and the Light, an intimate show at Clwb Ifor Bach in 2013 happened to be the first time you decided to perform New Order albums in their entirety (1981 debut Movement and its 1983 follow up Power, Corruption and Lies) Could you tell us what that gig was like and how it came to be?
My son has a very good friend of his who now lives in Cardiff and it became the suggested place to the do the warm up show. It’s quite odd now to think how nervous we were cause we had never played the New Order stuff before. We’re certainly more confident now.
It appears the only time Joy Division played Wales was at Bangor in 1979 with the Buzzcocks for £2.50 a ticket
Ah ya know the weird thing about Wales is that most of my girlfriends and indeed my wife now are from Wales. So I do have an affinity with Wales that obviously started before the Buzzcocks! I do remember the gig. We had a great time on that tour cause Joy Division were really at their peak. I spent a lot of time in Wales as a kid in Rhyl. To go somewhere else in Wales apart from Rhyl and Prestatyn was quite a thrill then as it is now.
Before you’ve said how you didn’t really look into any supposed meaning in the lyrics of Joy Division until after what happened to Ian. Has looking back at the New Order songs, some of which you haven’t performed in nearly 25 years, has that stirred up any surprising feelings?
It’s slightly less surprising with New Order because they were written together, Me, Stephen Bernard, while Joy Division were written nearly 100% by Ian on his own. So it wasn’t such a shock. Stepping into Ian’s shoes was a nervy moment for me. Stepping into Bernard’s shoes were a lot easier.
Is it not daunting seeing as the frontman of New Order is still around, with a direct comparison to be made?
The thing is that Stephen, Bernard and I have pretty much the same vocal ability. Stephen is too shy to sing and always was and gave up very quickly. But Bernard and I are pretty evenly matched on singing. Ian had a very interesting style, a very unique style. Bernard actually sounds like me and I find it easier on most songs.
I didn’t realise you actually sang on the first New Order album until I saw a live performance on YouTube.
Yeah I sang on two songs on Movement and then Bernard decided he would do them all. Looking back now I think should I have carried on sharing the vocals? But Bernard is as I’m sure that most people will realise by now that he can be very difficult and he was very (pauses) I don’t know how to say it. He could be a bit of a twat! It was a shame. Stephen actually wrote most of the vocal lines on Movement and we wrote them all together on Power Corruption Lies but Bernard became the only vocalist.
As winner and final recipient of ‘Best Bassist’ at the NME Awards in 1983, could you tell me a bit more about your unique style and who inspired you not to just be part of the rhythm section.
(Laughs) they obviously quit while they were ahead with me. Well Jean-Jacquces Burnel (The Stranglers) was the guy that really inspired me, Peaches had a very prominent bassline which I loved. From a melodic point of view it’d have to be John Entwistle and my very favourite bass player of all time is a girl called Carol Kaye who did the Motown bass lines.
On your website you’re selling items from your personal collection including a ticket stub from the seminal Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall Sex Pistols concert show in 1976. Is there any memorabilia you own that you couldn’t possibly part with?
I bought my first guitar after seeing the Sex Pistols but the odd thing is I think I’ve got to the age where I would be happy to let them go. A couple of years ago my daughter took me to The Hard Rock Cafe in Palma, in Majorca. I had never been it, it looked like a right shithole! But then I was flabbergasted to see Phil Lynott’s bass amp and speaker. I thought you know what, that’s what I want to happen. I want someone to walk into a Hard Rock Cafe in Slovenia and be like ‘oh my God, it’s Peter Hook’s first bass guitar.’ Better than a lock-up somewhere in Manchester just gathering dust.
Is it true that New Order weren’t really into football?
No we weren’t into football no. Me and Bernard got into football in later life. In that period 80-95 we had no interest, it was just the usual girls, drugs, rock and roll. It was Tony Wilson (manager and founder of Factory Records) who met with the head of A&R at the FA, who at the time said he really wished he could get a great group to do the World Cup song, so Tony said why don’t you ask New Order? It was devilment on behalf, even though we had no interest in football we just thought it would be a really crazy thing to do.
In your household will you be rooting for Wales or England when they play each other at the Euros?
(laughs) I’ll be rooting for both mate.
Do you intend to perform every New Order album eventually?
Yes. We’re moving into Substance in September then after that it will be Technique and Republic and then it will be Get Ready and Waiting for the Sirens’ Call. Then you know what? Maybe I’ll even play their new record .
Haha really?
Yeah, put some bass on it yeah. Give the fans what they should have got in the first place. New Order is not New Order without Peter Hook. So maybe that’s what I’ll do as my last hurrah, do their Music Complete and then it will be complete.
words KIERAN OWEN, photo HANS DINKELBERG