Peter Hook, a founding member of Joy Division and subsequently New Order, has taken a shot at his former bandmates, making it clear the feud is still very much ongoing.
After leaving the band in 2007, Hook has been at odds with Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert, who continue to play as New Order.
In a new interview with The Paper, Hook said: ‘I don’t think they’re New Order. They don’t sound like anything like them. I’ve watched them play songs [online] recently, and they’ve dropped the basslines and play it like some weird, bad cover version of a New Order track. So the animosity is obviously still there now.’
Things have been acrimonious between Hook and the other band members almost since the band’s inception in 1980 following the death of original Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.
The band decided to rebrand as New Order following Curtis’ death, and became hugely popular for blending the more gothic sound of Joy Division with an updated, synthy 80s appeal.
They had a number of hits throughout the decade including Blue Monday, True Faith, and Regret.
After a hiatus in the 1990s, they reformed in 2001, before Hook left the band in 2007.
Hook continued, telling the publication how fans often reach out online to complain about the sound quality at New Order shows, particularly that the bass is too quiet. While he admits it would be easy to feel smug about the criticism, he insists he’s ‘way above all that.’
Reflecting on the loss of Curtis, Hook stated that the band never appropriately grieved the trailblazing frontman.
‘I wish we’d have grieved him more. But we were allowed to sort of ignore it because we were so young,’ he said.
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Hook likened it to erasing the past, much like discarding photos of an ex, and placed some blame on Sumner, who he says refused to play Joy Division songs because he thought they were too heavy.
The intial cause of the rift in New Order has never been made clear, but the band has variously expressed problems with Hook playing Joy Division songs with his new band the Light, for trademarking the name of the Haçienda nightclub, and for starting a DJ career.
Hook sued the band in 2015, claiming that he was losing millions of pounds in royalties after a restructuring of the band’s finances following his departure. The case was settled in 2017 with the band releasing a statement to fans.
The statement read: ‘The disputes were based upon Hook’s use of various New Order and Joy Division assets on merchandising and in the promotion of shows by his new band, and the amount of money he receives from the use of the name New Order by his former colleagues since 2011. The Joy Division and New Order names mean a great deal to so many of the fans, and the band felt it important to protect the legacy.
‘With these issues now dealt with, Bernard (Sumner), Stephen (Morris) and Gillian (Gilbert) can continue to do what they do best, make music and perform live.’
While things may be legally settled between Hook and the band, its made clear by his recent comments that the feud is far from over.
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