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A
Peter Hook
rguably , Mancunian musician Peter Hook ’ s primary survival skill is his totally unique bass-playing style , a melodic , stage-scraping thrum that — ever since he launched with the legendary but short-lived outfit Joy Division , then perfected it in his ensuing combo New Order ; it ’ s a sound that ’ s often been imitated but never once been equaled . But he has other similarly important abilities . A secondary skill , only tangible in sparkling , often snarky conversation with the man is his droll , rapier-sharp wit . So there ’ s nothing surprising about the hilarious preface he proffers to a recent discussion of his current Peter Hook and the Light tour — wherein he ’ ll be playing Joy Division ’ s landmark two-album catalog , Unknown Pleasures and Closer , back to back two albums long due to the untimely 1980 suicide of its baritone vocalist Ian Curtis .“ I must admit that the greatest compliment I ’ ve ever been paid was when I was reading an article about the bass player from Nirvana , who was going to play Nevermind completely with a new band ,” he deadpans . “ And the reviewer , his first opening line of the review was , ‘ I blame Peter Hook for this !’ And I thought that was wonderful — what a compliment !”
At 66 , Hook ’ s scrappy sense of humor has sustained him through some turbulent times , such as his ongoing feuds with New Order , financial and otherwise , with whom he permanently split in 2007 — after the inimitable Curtis , who created the trademark Joy Division sound ? Many fans would side with Hook and his remarkable bass , although — after fronting side projects like Revenge and Monaco — he passed off bass duties in Light to his son , Jack Bates . He wanted to concentrate on singing , he explains , as descending into the catacomb-deep level of Ian Curtis is not an easy task . But he never took vocal lessons , he swears , as his new outfit began exclusively covering only the Joy Division and New Order catalogs on tour . “ I did the best lessons in the world ,” he says . “ Which was to carry on doing it , so I got better from year to year . I was absolutely terrified when I started , but now I really enjoy it . And you know , you so desperately want to do it justice , not for me , but for Ian and for the audience . Because without them , I would be nothing .” Hook playfully expands on this topic and many others in the following candid mid-tour chat …. IE : In all the times we talked , I kept forgetting to tell you this story . Back in the early ‘ 80s , when I was still living in the Midwest , I interviewed Bono on U2 ’ s October tour , when they were — weirdly enough — opening for J Geils . My best friend and I wound up spending the day with him , shopping for knickknacks , but at the start of the interview , I said , “ You guys are my second favorite band in the world right now .” And he was miffed at first and angrily asked who ranked First , And when I responded , “ Joy Division ,” he laughed and said , “ That is the only answer I would have accepted !” And then , he went on to tell a story of how he was desperately trying to finish a song at the piano called “ A Day Without Me ” when the phone rang , and it was Ian Curtis ’ wife , who had just become a widow . He and Ian were actually friends , he explained , and he promptly sat back down at the keyboards and finished the song in 15 minutes , he said . I told him I was moving to San Francisco , and a few years later , on U2 ’ s War tour , I went backstage to say hello to the opening act , Mike Scott , when I bumped into Bono again . And he smiled and said , “ Joy Division Guy ! You made it to San Francisco !” And that ’ s what I became known by in the U2 camp — Joy Division Guy . I haven ’ t shared that story very often , but I swear it ’ s all true !
PETER HOOK : Ha ! Well , I ’ ll tell you what — there ’ s worse things to be known by , aren ’ t there ? But I was just talking about meeting U2 for a magazine in Brussels , Belgium , and the guy was asking how I met them for the first time , and they came to discuss doing their first single with Martin Hannett in Britannia Row , right when we were recording “ Closer .” So as much as I
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