The pioneering sounds of the highly influential English bands
Joy Division and
New Order were dominated by the droning basslines of
Peter Hook. In the late '70s,
Hook's ominous bass enabled
Joy Division to carve portraits of profound despair. Although the late
Ian Curtis' harrowing lyrics and downcast vocals are often credited for
Joy Division's bleak beauty, many of the group's songs were driven by
Hook's sinister, throbbing bass. While badly tuned guitars were the rage during the punk era in late-'70s England,
Hook's bass playing instilled the importance of rhythm in punk rock, helping to inspire a generation of dance-oriented new wave bands.
After
Ian Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980,
Hook joined the other surviving members of
Joy Division in
New Order. He performed the lead vocals on
New Order's first album,
Movement ("Dreams Never End" and "Doubts Even Here"), and his bass-playing style became increasingly melodic as the band developed its use of sequenced, synthesized sounds. He also played some keyboards and electronic drums. Between the release of 1983's
Power, Corruption & Lies and 1985's
Low-life,
Hook took part in the short-lived Ad Infinitum, an act featuring Lindsay Reade (then-wife of Factory boss Tony Wilson) and members of
Stockholm Monsters; they released a cover of
Joe Meek's "Telstar." In 1990, after
New Order released Technique,
Hook formed a side project dubbed
Revenge and released One True Passion. Collaborating with Dave Hicks (guitar, keyboards) and Chris Jones (keyboards),
Hook combined elements of techno and hard rock; he also sang. A second
Revenge album, 1992's Gun World Porn, was released before
New Order resumed with the 1993 album
Republic.
While
New Order went on an extended hiatus,
Hook teamed up with vocalist
David Potts (who had joined
Revenge after that band's debut) and released
Music for Pleasure as
Monaco in 1997. Instead of shifting away from
New Order's distinctive sound,
Hook Xeroxed it;
Potts even sounded oddly similar to
New Order's
Bernard Sumner. However, the album startled fans and critics with its well-crafted pop; the track "What Do You Want from Me?" even became a hit in clubs and on alternative radio stations.
Monaco split up after label indifference temporarily shelved their self-titled second album; Monaco was finally released in 2000.
Hook remained restlessly active throughout the 2000s. He recorded two more albums with
New Order (
Get Ready and
Waiting for the Sirens' Call) prior to leaving the band in 2007. He contributed basslines to recordings by a handful of acts, including
Perry Farrell, Hybrid, and
the Crystal Method.
Freebass, a band he formed with fellow bassists
Andy Rourke (
the Smiths) and
Mani (
the Stone Roses) as initial members, issued a handful of EPs, along with a 2010 album (It's a Beautiful Life).
Peter Hook and the Light were formed for the sake of performing
Joy Division's two landmark studio albums,
Unknown Pleasures and
Closer, in their entirety, and were launched at The Factory,
Hook's Manchester nightclub. In 2011, the band released an EP, 1102/2011, which featured a version of
Joy Division's "Atmosphere" with
Rowetta on lead vocals.
Unknown Pleasures: Live in Australia was released around the same time. Throughout this phase of his career,
Hook also DJ'ed, compiled The Hacienda Classics and The Hacienda: Acid House Classics, and even wrote a book, How Not to Run a Club. He also served as an executive producer for the
Hacienda Classical project, which transformed the hits played at the club into orchestral pieces in live shows and on the 2016 album of the same name. ~ Michael Sutton & Andy Kellman