An Artist Profile of Peter Hook: Out of OrderPeter Hook On New Order’s Ongoing Turmoil, the Rock Hall and… Dogs

“Sometimes you literally do have to pinch yourself…how lucky I’ve been.” Peter Hook, co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, is in a place of immense gratitude. His career, which has spanned six decades, has given him a life most musicians only dream of. Now, as the frontman for Peter Hook & the Light, he tours the world playing some of Joy Division and New Order’s most beloved albums and hits, including the highest-selling 12” single of all time, “Blue Monday,” along with selections from the Light’s catalog. 

But to say New Order’s legacy is a complicated one would be an understatement. The original lineup—Bernard Sumner, Hook, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert—hasn’t played together since 2007, when Hook announced the split. However, Hook maintained a 25 percent stake in Vitalturn Company Ltd. to maintain royalty rights in a secure manner once their label, Factory Records, closed down.

Sumner and Morris initially denied the breakup, then Sumner, Morris and Gilbert regrouped as New Order in 2011 without Hook, leading to scathing memoirs, contentious legal battles and royalty disputes over using the band name. Hook sued Sumner, Morris and Gilbert in 2015, alleging they’d formed a new company behind his back, one that generated an income close to $11 million. A final settlement was reached in 2017.

“What they did was, in my mind, absolutely unforgivable,” Hook says via Zoom. “It’s not particularly what they did, because it was basically about money and carrying on, which I sort of do get, but I didn’t get the et tu Brute bit.” 

The ongoing disputes have plagued the relationship between Hook and Sumner to such a degree that Hook doesn’t anticipate sharing the podium with him when both groups are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 14. Nonetheless, Hook doesn’t shy away from discussing it and offers his own insights into New Order’s latest lineup change. 

“Do you know what’s the weirdest thing?” he asks. “Now that Barney’s [Bernard] doing it on his own, it seems even more ridiculous than ever. Stephen and Gillian quit touring with him in June.” 

Hook’s candor recently landed him in hot water with Sumner once again. Speaking to Rolling Stone in April, he evidently made some comments that didn’t sit right with his former mate. 

“I did get a letter telling me off for my comments, so we’re still each at each other’s throats,” he says. “It’s quite interesting. I was looking up freedom of speech, which is a big thing, isn’t it? Even with old Donald [Trump], especially in America, freedom of speech is a big thing. I was quite shocked that they are criticizing my freedom of speech. I cannot tell you exactly what they took issue with, for legal reasons, but I think you can probably guess. But you’re entitled to tell your side and your story—you’re entitled to that.” 

The most perplexing part for Hook is the lack of communication at the onset of the dispute. Considering they’d been friends and bandmates for decades, he wonders why Sumner and the rest of the group didn’t simply start a dialogue. There’s a sense he’d much rather be on good terms with them than not. After all, the Rock Hall induction is a big deal. 

“They have a team round them in the same way that I do, and surely your first port of call would be to talk,” he says. “Then, if you couldn’t get anywhere, then do it. But the thing is that we’re all still here and we should be celebrating that fact that we’re getting in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.” 

The conversation suddenly pivots to dogs after Hook’s daughter arrives. She has a little guy named Ned that Hook clearly adores. On his desk, he points out, sit the ashes of his beloved Labrador, who died at 15. His tone softens as he talks about her, then he notices this writer's chihuahua Paco. Though he initially thought Paco was a cat, we explain he’s just a small dog that has somehow managed to live to 17 (and counting). He seems genuinely interested in hearing about him and, in that moment, it’s obvious just how caring and sensitive Hook really is. It’s no surprise the betrayal he felt from his bandmates cut so deeply.

But despite the dissolution of New Order, Hook’s career has continued to flourish. In addition to his work with Peter Hook & the Light, he was the guest bassist for Gorillaz’s 2020 single “Aries” from the band’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez project. His relationship with frontman Damon Albarn stretches back to the Blur days. 

“Someone like Damon Albarn is incredible,” he says. “I find him to be incredible. He’s so consistent. He writes non-stop. It’s unbelievable.”

He asks me if I’ve seen the Blur documentary and with a tinge of embarrassment I reply, “No, but I need to.” 

He continues, “Well, Damon lives in a lighthouse at the edge of England. It’s a beautiful place. The band convened there in his studio, and there was a really sad moment when he was talking about the lighthouse. He turned around and he goes, ‘I never thought I’d end up here on my own.’ It was a really sad moment for somebody as successful as him with all the things that he’s achieved for him to say that he was lonely. And weirdly, the other three members of Blur ignored it, and that’s probably one of the most profound things he could have said. Mate, if I’d have been there, I’d have gone and given him a hug. No one gave him a hug or anything, not even a slap on the back.” 

One can’t help but wonder if he sees himself in Albarn and that maybe—just maybe—he needs a hug from Sumner, Gilbert and Morris to finally be at peace.

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Photo by Jason MooneyThe post An Artist Profile of Peter Hook: Out of Order first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.