‘Play it high, Hooky,’ suggested Ian Curtis to his Joy Division bandmate, Peter Hook.
That advice is one of the most game-changing moments in music history, along with Edward Van Halen ditching the drums for the guitar. In this case, for Hook, it helped define the sound of two of his legendary bands – Joy Division, and later, when it morphed into New Order. And Hook is acknowledged today as one of the best bassists and most influential of all time.
And to cement that, Hook and his bandmates will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this upcoming November 14.
Hook spoke to this writer, and what follows is a candid discussion – in a nutshell – of his 50-year career.
‘I think it’s a wonderful thing not only for us as a group but also for the fans that both bands will now get their deserved recognition,’ opined Hook right before his current band, the Light, embarks on a North American tour. ‘I especially want to dedicate it to the people who helped along the way who are sadly no longer with us – Ian Curtis, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannett. This was our third time being nominated, and so I’m happy that we will now finally make it.’
This year’s Hall of Fame has a pronounced British flavour to it as Joy Division/New Order will join Sade, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Phil Collins and fellow Mancunians, Oasis. And Hook was ecstatic about it: ‘It’s great to see so many other British inductees and also great to see such a wide variety of genres being included. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing the Oasis boys at the ceremony as it’s particularly great for the city of Manchester that we are all being inducted at the same time.’
Joy Division’s brooding and atmospheric industrial sound with Hook’s high and melodic bass lines was a huge template for the post-punk rock scene. Curtis’ advice to allow the bass to soar above Bernard Sumner’s guitars was accidentally a defining sound.
‘At first, I didn’t really have an influence on my own bass playing as it was probably a bit too early,’ shared Peter. ‘My own bass idols ended up being people like Glen Matlock (the Sex Pistols), Paul Simonon (the Clash), and Jean Jacques Burnel (the Stranglers) who were all from more of a punk rock background.’
‘As for Ian’s advice – I suppose it was one of the best pieces of advice. Yes, because that went on to be my ‘gimmick’ so to speak, and I developed that into something very iconic and recognisable. So, yes, thank you, Ian!’
Of the discography he has recorded with Joy Division, New Order, Revenge, Monaco, Freebass, and Peter Hook and the Lights, he points to these five songs: ‘It changes all the time, but today, I would say ‘Age Of Consent’ (from Power Corruption and Lies), ‘Dreams Never End’ (from Movement), ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, ‘Primitive Notion’ (from Get Ready) and ‘Thieves Like Us.’ But ask me again tomorrow, and it will be different!
Speaking of recognisable, following the untimely death of Ian Curtis, Hook, Sumner, and drummer Stephen Morris continued the band as New Order, albeit with a more techno dance-pop sound as they added keyboardist Gillian Gilbert.
New Order soared to even bigger heights and has influenced a virtual who’s who of top artists from Moby, the Killers, the xx, Orgy, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem, Happy Mondays, Chvrches, the Drums, Thieves Like Us, and others.
While New Order continued the minimalist and dispassionate imagery of Joy Division, the one difference was the casual and everyday attire as worn by Sumner, Morris, and Gilbert. Hook, on the other hand, had a roguish look with long, unkempt hair and a leather jacket. And somehow, that married well into his bass playing.
‘Sometimes, people would say to me that I looked like I should have been in a different band than the other three members of New Order. It’s quite funny really because it wasn’t really a conscious decision on my part. I was just simply wearing clothes that I liked,’ Peter cracked.
Nowadays, Peter performs with his band, the Light, which includes his son, Jack Bates, who also performs with the current iteration of the Smashing Pumpkins that recently performed in Manila.
‘I have known (the Smashing Pumpkins’) Billy Corgan for a very long time, and he actually played with New Order for a few months in 2001 as our touring guitarist,’ related Hook. ‘So, there has always been that connection between our bands. I’m very happy that Jack has been able to do that for 11 years now and I know that Billy looks after him very well. I’m very proud of him.’
Having been a part of two legendary bands, Hook was also a part of the all-star super crew of Freebass with bass luminaries such as Mani of the Stone Roses and Andy Rourke of the Smiths (the latter two passed away in 2025 and 2023 respectively).
‘Freebass was an interesting project, and I’m proud of the music we put out. At the time, I think it was a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, so to speak, as we were all trying to be in charge. But it was great to work with Mani and Andy, and I’m so sad that they are both now no longer with us. I recently started playing a Freebass song in my live shows as a tribute to them called ‘You Don’t Know This About Me,’ and it’s been great to play that song.’
Having done all of that, is there anything else on Hook’s bucket list?
‘I’m lucky because there are not many things, really! Maybe working with Iggy Pop is something on my bucket list still; I’d like to do that soon before we are all too old!’
‘And of course, performing in the Philippines! You simply need to just get a concert promoter there to bring us over. It would be as easy as that. Unfortunately, we don’t do a lot of shows in Asia these days because we simply don’t get contacted by your promoters, but let’s hope that it might change soon!’