Peter Hook is “sad” there isn’t a secret archive of lost Joy Division songs.
The 69-year-old bassist helped found the group in the 1970s but Joy Division came to an end in 1980 following the death of frontman Ian Curtis with the remaining members going on to form New Order – and Hook admits there’s barely any old music left over because they were so strapped for cash they recorded everything on one cassette and then recorded over it every time they came up with something new.
He told NME: “Well, because of Joy Division being so young, there really isn’t much there.
“We had no money, so we didn’t have any of the luxuries like being able to buy cassettes and stuff. We had one cassette and we used to record over it. Anything we’ve got left is from the end of Joy Division’s life.
“It’s sad, isn’t it? It’s shocking to think that, but that’s the truth. With New Order, there’s a lot knocking about. Even on these box sets, there’s a lot of stuff that I don’t remember.
“Some of it’s good, some of it’s bad, and you can see why it was done. For the fans, it’s a great chronicle – and for me, actually.”
He went on to add: “[Joy Division] literally only existed for less than two years. It’s amazing what we achieved and what Ian has created for generation after generation of kids who were just like us: mixed up, confused, didn’t know what the world and the future held.
“They rely on that music to get them through, exactly the way that I did with The Doors. It’s wonderful to be a part of that.”
Peter was part of New Order with his former Joy Division bandmates Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris, but he quit in 2007 due to frictions with the group, and he went on to form Peter Hook and The Light in 2010, performing hits by both New Order and Joy Division.
New Order also still tour and Tom Chapman has been their bassist since 2010, but Peter recently insisted they don’t sound like they used to.
He told The i Paper: “I don’t think they’re New Order. They don’t sound anything like them. I’ve watched them play songs [online] recently, and they’ve dropped the basslines and play it like some weird, bad cover version of a New Order track. So the animosity is obviously still there now.”
Asked if he thinks it’s a dig at him, he replied: “Well, do you think it makes the song better?”
Revealing the messages he is inundated with from New Order fans, he added: “They’re like, ‘You can’t hear the bass!’ Obviously, there is a certain smugness one could adopt. But I’m, obviously, way above all that.”