EXCLUSIVE! Peter Hook INTV!

For the last five years, former Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook as been touring with his band, The Light, the back catalog of his former bands. Hook, who has always been outspoken about his past work continues to celebrate it this fall as this week he will return to the U.S. to perform New Order's Low Life and Brotherhood. While his former New Order members work on a new record with a new person in his position, Hooky soldiers on to showcase what he can do on his own. Aside from performing with The Light, Hooky is also a celebrated author, writing his memoirs on Joy Division and his former club The Hacienda, currently he is penning his New Order memoirs. We spoke to Hooky about his current tour, his writing, what he thinks of his former bandmates and another love and passion of his (and ours) -- soccer. Take a look at our interview with Hooky below:

After successful runs doing Joy Division’s albums, plus New Order’s first two records, what does this experience of playing ‘Lowlife’ and ‘Brotherhood?’

Yes the time has come for New Order albums 3 and 4! The previous tours with Unknown Pleasures & Closer and Movement & Power, Corruption and Lies have all been very well received so I am very excited to be coming back again with Low-Life & Brotherhood. We played this set for the first time just a couple of weeks ago with 3 gigs in the UK, and we've just got back from playing it at a few shows in France & Germany - they all went really well! I can't believe we've done it! And those gigs have been great in terms of road-testing the new set and making sure it's as good as it can be in time for arriving in the US.

Playing these two albums now, what is it like to revisit them after all these years?

It feels absolutely fantastic. There are so many great songs that have been ignored for so long, simply because when I was part of New Order the others would just refuse to play them, I think they were just too lazy to change the set. Now, with the band that I have who are very enthusiastic and extremely capable musicians, we are able to do it and I must say it feels great. To be able to play Thieves Like Us, Subculture, Lonesome Tonight, Confusion, Way of Life... I have wanted to play them all again for so long. And I think the audiences do really appreciate it. We have something like 120 songs rehearsed and ready to play on tour! They will all get an airing.

How have audiences been responding to this tour compared to past tours?

Well we've only played it 7 times at this point, but each gig has been brilliant. We played 2 very big gigs in Manchester & London and I was blown away by the response, the crowds were absolutely fantastic. Then to take it on the road is very exciting - we had an absolutely wonderful sold out gig in Paris last week at the Moulin Rouge which is obviously a very famous venue. It's great to see the audience rocking out on tunes like Sunrise or Broken Promise, then dancing to songs like Sooner Than You Think or Paradise, then listening intently to the quieter ones like Elegia. This set really takes the audience on a journey and so far they all seem to be enjoying it!

Are Slaves of Venus also opening this tour like last year?

Yes! Last year the idea was for it to be a surprise, so we didn't announce it. The idea was to play a Joy Division set before launching into the 2 New Order albums. People were really happy about that, so we will do it again this year - no surprises this time, every Low-Life and Brotherhood gig will have us supporting ourselves, so get down early! A few people were gutted last time round that they missed it, that just shows you, you should always check out the support band!

Recently you made headlines reviewing Bernard Sumner’s autobiography, what is it like singing his lyrics?

It's quite difficult at times because some of the songs are very, very wordy... I wrote them all out to help me learn them and the amount of words in the songs is staggering at times! But I'm getting my head around it now. Bernard's lyrics are interesting because some of them are absolutely fantastic, like True Faith or Bizarre Love Triangle for example, but then some of them are a bit daft to say the least - Every Little Counts springs to mind! A lot of the lyrics from this period were actually written by all of us, not just Bernard, it was only later that he took it upon himself to do all of the lyrics.

When fans read your New Order autobiography and Sumner’s story, how many differences will they see?

I think they will see a lot of differences. There are many things in Barney's book that I obviously do not agree with, that's why I was very happy that Billboard allowed me to put my thoughts across. There are also a lot of simple factual inaccuracies in Barney's book so I will be making sure that mine is spot on in that department. I also couldn't believe that he does not even mention some of the albums - Power, Corruption & Lies, Brotherhood etc - they are just skipped over completely. I would like to think that mine will be more complete.

In his book, Sumner also claims to have hypnotized Ian Curtis, to your knowledge, did you know of this when it happened?

Yes I am aware of it. I found it quite a strange thing to include in the book, but yes I was aware at the time that that was something Ian and Bernard had been exploring.

How is your New Order autobiography coming along?

It's going very well. I am really happy that I decided to split everything into 3 separate books - Joy Division, the Hacienda and now New Order - because 1 book is simply not enough, I would have been missing out too much, a problem I think that Bernard's book has. I am cracking on with it, it will be called Power, Corruption & Lies: Inside New Order. Hopefully it won't be too long before it's out.

The world went from having New Order, then no New Order, now there are two bands playing New Order material. Do you ever think it is overload or just a great nostalgic trip?

I don't think it's overload, no. It must be great for the fans! It's quite funny really because you do have some fans that love both acts, some fans that go and see them and never us, and some that come to see us and never them! But in general I think it's a good thing because it keeps the music alive. What we are doing is very different to what "New Order" are doing though - in their performances they play the same 15 or so songs night after night, they haven't changed their setlist in about 15 years. On the other hand we are playing all the great New Order songs that they refuse to play, plus all the Joy Division tracks too. We play over 30 songs a night, a 3 hour show, and I'm proud to be able to put on our shows with what I consider to be a much fairer ticket price. I really like the idea of playing the albums, it's much more interesting and rewarding than just playing the greatest hits.

Now, with all of the Joy Division albums down and four New Order records toured, will Peter Hook and the Light ever release an album of original material?

Because of the trouble we're having as New Order, the legal problems that I'm still having with the others, it tends to sour everything and make you think it was all shit, then you play the stuff and realize 'Oh My God...!' Even though you hate each other now, you did create something absolutely magical. It's been nice to get that back by playing the albums, it keeps you going through something very difficult. I'm quite jealous of them lot, the others, because they're going on about doing a new LP and I'm thinking 'ah, that's what we (The Light) could be doing - we should be doing that!'. I've always had that thing, it was always drummed into me from when we started: keep on going, keep writing, your next song is your best song. So yes we are going to do it, we've started, we're fired up by the others, so thank you Bernard, Stephen and Gillian!

Will “Technique,” and “Republic” and beyond every get played live?

I want to play everything, yes. I'm not sure what the next move will be though at the moment. Let's tour the Low-Life and Brotherhood set and then we'll sit down and have a think about the next chapter. I would like to do Substance - Joy Division and New Order - that would make for a fantastic set. Then obviously Technique is looming large...

After this tour, what is next for you?

Well we're on the road now until mid December, which is great, the lads are very excited. After that I'll take some time off in January to finish the book, then in February we're back touring again, going back to Australia and New Zealand which I am delighted about, it has been far too long since we played there. And I'm still DJing now and again which I enjoy. And we'll be working on new material. So all of that, combined with being a husband and a father!

Switching gears, last time we spoke, David Moyes was managing your Manchester United. After the failed season last year, Val Gaal is now taking control. What are your thoughts so far? Also, pretty tasty to have Falcao and di Maria on the same team!

It was a shame how it worked out for Moyes but I think it was pretty clear to see that he was simply out of his depth - Man United is a different beast to any other team. Van Gaal seems to have a lot more about him - he's done it all, winning trophy after trophy and has a great track record it massive teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich, so I think he will be great for United. I've been very impressed by the signings he has made, I can't believe Falcao and Di Maria play for us either! They haven't made the best of starts, but we are still in contention, so I think once it all clicks properly we should be looking at a good season ahead.

Just because he is always a fun topic, what are your thoughts on Mario Balotelli back in the Premiership?

It's a funny one isn't it. He's such a character, but to me he needs to cut out all of that and just focus on his football. There is obviously a great player in there somewhere but he hasn't quite done it as of yet in England. He didn't score enough goals for City and now at Liverpool he hasn't hit his stride. I suppose as a United fan I should be happy about that but you never like to see people struggling, hopefully he'll turn it around and fulfill his potential soon. All the stories do make me laugh, he is undoubtedly great entertainment.

Quick News

Are Refused really fucking dead? The iconic Swedish punk band, who reunited in 2012 for a year-long tour, seem to be laying low, even though they played their "last show" in December of 2012. This comes to light and speculation as guitarist Jon Brännström posted on the band's Facebook page saying, "I was fired from Refused a while ago. I wasn’t given a reasonable explanation and wasn’t even invited to sit down and talk about it, so I'm not completely sure why they decided to go on without me. We’ve always been better at punk rock than democratic processes and dealing with conflicts, so I guess I’m not too surprised it went down like this. Quite sad indeed, but perhaps it's all for the best. I have always been more interested in writing music than reproducing it, more at home in the studio than on the road. Comfortable with slow intellectual processes rather than reacting instinctively in tumbling settings. What hurts me the most, is obviously the gesture. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve made art together and have been tied to together through Refused for twenty years. I used to be proud to call these people my friends." The band then rebutted and wrote, "Any collective effort will have its ups and downs and when people really pour their hearts into something, things get complicated. We cut ties with Jon already in 2013 because he did not share our passion for the band. We don't know why he decided to emit this narrative on facebook or why he did it now, instead of just calling one of us up, but we wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Deftones have taken to Instagram to confirm they are in the studio working on their new album. While it seems they are in the writing phase, no word as to when the record will come out.

U2 are known for going on the road and delivering the biggest and best live shows around. Now, the band are hinting that they could do acoustic nights and loud plugging in nights on their next tour. Bassist Adam Clayton spoke to Rolling Stone and said, “There is talk of doing two different kinds of shows. One night would be a kind of loud, explosive rock’n’roll kind of event and then the other night’s show take the acoustic arrangements of some of the songs, and kind of present those songs in a much more intimate way. But we don’t really know how that’s going to sound and look.”

Bob Dylan has confirmed he will release a new record in 2015 called, Shadows In The Night. No release date has been set, but he did release the cover, take a look below:

Newsletter

This month we celebrate our 8th year anniversary and we are so thrilled to still be here and doing what we love. Thanks so much to everyone who has made this possible, in the coming weeks we will be running contests and have a few special postings about our eight years as a music site!

In the meantime, we have a special announcement, this year we need your help picking our "Best New Artist" award. We began giving away a "Best New Artist" superlative in 2011  after James Blake's stunning debut blew us away, we felt he needed more than just a number slot on our Top 10 Albums of the Year list. 

In the past, winners have included James Blake, The Heartbreaks, The 1975, and now, it will be whoever you pick! 

Now, as so many new artists have come out in 2014 and released a debut record / EP that has stunned us in so many ways, we want to hear from you to help us decide who the "Best New Artist of 2014" is. At the top of our site you will see a poll where you can cast your vote for one of our five nominees who are:

• Arca
• Ratking
• Royal Blood
• FKA Twigs
• Bobby Schmurda 

Between now and December 1, cast your vote and the artist with the most votes will be announced in December as to who the winner and artist who claims this years title of "Best New Artist."
 

Rising Artist: Reginwolf

When Black Sabbath comes calling for you to open for them, you know you are something special. The Canadian blues rock ensemble Reignwolf is the brain child of Jordan Cook, a guitar prodigy who learned his craft at a young age. Inspired by the blues that his father would play around his home, he took it one step further and added his own flair and angst to it to make a sound all his own. Since forming Reignwolf in 2011, the band have gained support from Soundgarden, Stevie Wonder, opened for Sabbath this year, and even became festival favorites. Now, three years together, the band will finally release their debut, allegedly coming this fall. While we wait to hear what their debut will sound like, we already know so much is riding on what is to come.

Johnny Depp, Die Antword Join Marilyn Manson During Halloween Concert

For a special Halloween gig at LA's Roxy Theater, Marilyn Manson brought out Johnny Depp and Ninja of Die Antword to perform "Beautiful People." Take a look!

Underrated Classic: Public Image Ltd. - 'First Issue'

The Sex Pistols were like a firecracker. They burned bright but very short. A burst of energy and enjoyment that you would not forget but wouldn't last long. After their split, Johnny Rotten went back to his birth name, John Lydon and formed Public Image Ltd., the first post-punk band in England that would combine the sound dance hall, dub, reggae, and rock. With still so much fury against his band, Lydon would retaliate in his lyrics with songs about and against Sid Vicious and former manager Malcolm McLaren, who crafted the image of the Pistols. In 1978, just months after the Pistols officially called it quits, Public Image LTD. were not only born, but released their debut, First Issue, later that year. The record surprised many who were used to hearing Lydon scream his head off but also realized it still had the same agro and energy that he had fronting the Pistols. The record was an experiment and while it alienated punks, it gained Lydon a whole new following in Britain and around the world. Many also realized that the record showcased that Lydon could do more as a artist and another side of what his talents could be. PiL would set the bar for the sound of what would come in the next decade, a sound that would be adopted by Bad Brains, The Specials, Mick Jones of The Clash when he formed Big Audio Dynamite, and others. Still, 36 years later, this record sounds as fresh and diverse as it did when it was first released. 

Movie of the Month: Hugo

Could the master of gangster films and a man who showcases as much profanity and violence in his films as he does drug use and devious villains make a childrens movie? In 2011, master director Martin Scorsese proved not only could he make a childrens movie, he could make a childrens he would want to see. The film was Hugo, based off the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The film tells the story of Hugo, a boy who lives inside Paris' famed Gare Montparnasse train station. Prior to living there, his father was a clockmaster that was killed in a fire and had no where to turn. Prior to his father's passing, his family would see the films of Georges Méliès and become entranced by them. While living in the station, Hugo discovers Méliès and tries to bring the forgotten filmmaker's career back to life. While this is a film of fiction, the story of Méliès being forgotten by his fellow Frenchmen is true and of course it would take a film buff like Scorsese to tell that tale perfectly. Hugo, which was Scorsese's first venture into the 3-D world assembled a fantastic cast featuring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsly, Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Sascha Baron Cohen, Emily Mortimer, and Christopher Lee. While this is not your typical Scorsese film, it is still worth watching with the whole family as this month begins the holiday season. 

The Flaming Lips on Kimmel

Watch The Flaming Lips get into the Halloween spirit on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Dressed in Wizard of Oz themed outfits, The Lips were joined by Grace Potter and Morgan Delt to perform two Beatles classics "A Little Help From My Friends" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," off their Sgt. Pepper's covers album, With A Little Help From My Fwends.

Decemberists Album Trailer

In a new trailer, The Decemberists announced details of their new album, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. The album arrives in January, take a look at the trailer and hear a snippet of a new song, as well as watch how the mural of their album cover came together in Brooklyn.

Run the Jewels on Letterman

Watch Run the Jewels perform with Boots on The Late Show with David Letterman as they do "Early" off their fantastic new album, Run the Jewels 2.