Peter Hook and New Order have paid tribute to former collaborator Quincy Jones for “making us big in America”.
The ‘Blue Monday’ band were signed to Jones’ Qwest Records label and had their classic single successfully mixed by the legendary producer – who died at the age of 91 on Sunday (03.11.24) – in 1988 and bassist Hook has remembered the influence he had on the band’s fortunes in the US.
Peter wrote on X: “It’s so sad to hear about Quincy Jones.
“When he signed us to his label, he made us feel so welcome – inviting us to dinner at his home every time we were in town. He made us big in America. He was so humble and sweet that you immediately fell in love with him.
“And to this day I still got a lovely message from him every year on Christmas and birthday cards! A musical genius and a great, lovely man. He will be sorely missed. RIP.”
New Order also shared a tribute of their own to Quincy – who worked with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson in a long and varied career.
The Instagram post was captioned: “Very sorry to hear about the passing of our old label boss and collaborator, Quincy Jones. We were on his label Qwest for many years, he did a great remix of ‘Blue Monday’ in 1988. We send all our condolences and thoughts to his family, he was a true legend.”
The post also featured a clip of Quincy expressing his admiration for the ‘True Faith’ hitmakers.
The producer says in the footage: “We’re talking about this group who was influenced by the Sex Pistols, but at the time I didn’t understand it, because I thought they were much better than the Sex Pistols musically.
“They were funky and they had tight time, because naturally when you’re dealing with sequences, the time’s gonna be nailed down with spikes, which I loved. And they know how to really deal with dance music.”