Anyone met New Order in person?

Just wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what they were like in person if met for an autograph on the street, at a show, etc? Is Bernard really as grumpy as he is made out to be, or is that crap?

Thanks, Veronica

Met Hooky once at a Monaco concert, and asked for an autograph. He obliged, but said nothing, and looked really cheesed off! Still a top moment in my life, though!

tell us about how you lit his ciggy again Jeff, please!

Hooky looked at me when I screamed his name once, does that count?

well, that and Alan's story of driving to Oakland in 85 to see NO/hearing EGG on the radio are two of my favorite New Order brushes with fame i've heard on NOOL.

I just told the story, but yes I met Barney at the Palm Springs Airport, and he was very friendly and soft spoken. He kept thanking me on every thing I said. And signed my Sirens cd. He wrote "All the Best Bernard Sumner 2005"

ShugZV© wrote: We got a lock in with Hooky after his DJ Set in Grahame Ferguson's Nightclub in Glasgow. Couldn't wish to meet a more down to earth bloke, he answered almost all of our questions for a good couple of hours (there were seven or eight of us) and he smoked most of my fags. Just a pity I can't remember half the questions One of my mates down in England called me at 2 in the morning, Hooky took the phone and simply told my mate to "Fuck Off" which made my mates year.

Legend.

Priceless!

I was in the Hacienda back in May 1990 and went to the toilet.As i walked in Barney was walking out.A strange moment.Later that evening we were walking up the stairs and Barney was coming down.I said "youre Barney arent you?" and he just replied "no , it`s just my hair.i look like him".But it was him.Mick fucking Hucknall was in there that night too.Twat.

I've met them twice.

In 1985 I was involved with Cleveland State University's WCSB radio station. The station helped promote the show at the Akron Agora and through the promoter, Val Seeley, I met all 4 plus Rob Gretton.

Peter Hook was a friendly genuine guy. Bernard was a snob. Gillian and Stephen were VERY quiet. And Gretton was even a bigger snob than Sumner.

In 1987 I got a pass for the backstage party via Warner Brothers' record rep. Larry Bole and met them after their concert at Cleveland's Nautica Stage.

Hook came up to me and said I know you from somewhere! He somehow remembered my face from 1985. Again, Hooky was the friendliest.

tbh ive always steered away from trying to meet them,got a simalar story to stockholm,went to the toilets in hacienda circa 84-85 and had a piss next to barney. AND no i didnt peep at his peeper lol,always thought if id met em they would be total tossers and thus id have to burn every new order record id ever owned,and i couldnt do that now could i??. met a few other so called stars at the hac though,boy george,grace jones,madge to name a few oh and that twat from simple minds whats his bloody name now,anyroad he was so pissed i had to carry him out over my shoulder and put him in a cab and give the cunt 20 quid for the ride. bastard

I met steve morris and gillian at the Rob Gretton Tribute night. I was so pissed that i probably scared the life out of them. Then again, the pair of them were quite pissed as well. I believe theres a photo is shugs photo album. Any chance of sticking up Shugster?

I met them in an instore signing on their last Australian tour, and although this setting was kinda cheesey, they all seemed genuine, down-to-earth types. Steve is quiet, Barney was grinning (possibly at my greeting of "G'day") and Hooky was talkative and friendly.

Shug, I didn't think Hooky smoked - he was reportedly indignant at the depiction of himself rifling through Ian's fitting body for smokes in 24HPP, declaring "I don't even smoke!" (aparrently Steve was the smoker). I guess he's since taken it up.... CTB

CTB wrote: I met them in an instore signing on their last Australian tour, and although this setting was kinda cheesey, they all seemed genuine, down-to-earth types. Steve is quiet, Barney was grinning (possibly at my greeting of "G'day") and Hooky was talkative and friendly.

Shug, I didn't think Hooky smoked - he was reportedly indignant at the depiction of himself rifling through Ian's fitting body for smokes in 24HPP, declaring "I don't even smoke!" (aparrently Steve was the smoker). I guess he's since taken it up.... CTB

Hooky I believe took up smoking around 93. Well you can see it in the New Order Story.

Let me precede this by saying that BLT's comments were not influcenced by payola in any way, shape or form from me. Thanks Brian, really glad you like it, I still get goosebumps if I think about it.

I personally never met any of the band, other than walking down a sidewalk outside of the Civic Auditorium in Portlan, May 2,1989. I was walking one way, and Peter, Barney and Rob were going the other, I just smiled at 'em and said something like " Hey,how're you guys doing?"; they just smiled, said hello and kept on walking, as did I, I didn't wanna bother them on a glorious day.

I did see Barney, Peter and Phil after the Oakland show, but again the same circumstances as before, it was nice though that Ian got his pic taken with Hooky. I did walk up to Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads after the same gig(I guess he was backstage the whole time or something) and chatted with him for a bit.

I just met Peter Hook at the Oakland show. I told him "I don't know if you remember me, but I am the girl you gave your pic and drumstick to at the Area One show in LA." and he just said "wow, that was a long time ago!" hahaha

Knew 'em quite well from when I used to follow Joy Div around the country. I used to talk to Ian and Hooky the most, never really got to know Barney. Nice bloke though. My sister knows them better than me, especially Steve and Gillian.

We were few french NOOLers to meet Barney, Andy Robinson, Steve, Phil and finally Hooky after the Canal+ show on march 21, 2005. We congratulate them for the great show, especially for the Temptation performance We talked about the upcoming live dates and setlists (they told us EGG may probably take part of the set ) We took some pictures and they friendly signed autographs, setlists & CD covers.

A great moment for all of us

@ Canal+ session

Met Bernard at a petrol station in about 1990. He was putting petrol in his BMW Z1. Got his autograph but felt lick a bit of a dick. Wouldn't ask again. Have seen him a few times since in Sainsbury's!

I am friends with Pottsy so have met Hooky on couple of occasions, once at Pottsy's ex wifes birthday bash at Dukes 92 in Manchester and at Pottsy's wedding (Hooky did a speach). Was quite drunk on both occasions so it;s all a bit blurry.

Met Hooky a few times now. First time was in 90 / 91 Subterania Ladbroke Grove with Revenge. Lovely bloke and a good laugh. Last time I met him he asked me if I get bored looking at his face!I'm lucky at NO gigs / Turnmills because I aways seem to get some recognition from him. Met Pottsy a few times as well when he was in London and me and Johnny Giles ran into Phil Cunningham in Dublin at Lansdowne Road for the NO gig. I almost walked past him!

:bag:

DC wrote: Knew 'em quite well from when I used to follow Joy Div around the country. I used to talk to Ian and Hooky the most, never really got to know Barney. Nice bloke though. My sister knows them better than me, especially Steve and Gillian.

will you tell more? what was ian like to speak with? did he engage and keep eye contact in conversation or did he keep looking around the room? when was the first time you saw them - were you struck right off that they were extraordinary? was he a charismatic person? videos and dvd's don't communicate charisma.

Spotnick wrote:

Veronica wrote: Just wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what they were like in person if met for an autograph on the street, at a show, etc? Is Bernard really as grumpy as he is made out to be, or is that crap?

Thanks, Veronica

Met the 4 of them yesterday... but only chatted with Bernard & Phil really...

Did yaou hand out your NOOL business cards?

Seriously did you talk about them taking some sort of part or interest in NOOL?

Met Hooky twice, first time was in 1990/1 at an ACR gig in Manchester. i had a Revenge t-shirt on and he walked in, came up to me, shook my hand and said 'what a man!' and then he was gone. i was 16 and completely dumbstruck. (I'd also recently received some written answer from Hooky to Qs id sent to NO to do with studying pop music at school. still got them and the questions are embarassing)

Second time was last year at a club called South in Manchester where he was dj'ing. After his set i was bending his ear about the Rob gretton night and apparantly he was rubbing my head but i was too under the influenece to remember. i asked him a few other things to which i cant remember his response! i know Rowetta and she said it looked like we were old friends. Embarassing again....

Never know, may have some kind of proper conversation if i ever meet him again or i might learn and not approach him at all!

Way back in 1983 at the Paradise Garage gig in NYC (the poster for that gig can be seen on the wall in the Perfect Kiss video).

My friend Barry and I went to the club in the afternoon, intending to talk to the band for a fanzine piece. I don't recall if we set anything up in advance, or if the fanzine actually existed (Barry did write up the meeting and I have a copy buried somewhere). We managed to get inside the club and almost immediately met Peter Hook. Some of you old-timers may recall an issue of the Face magazine from that time featuring a big cover story on NO, and photos of the group (which was an event unto itself as the band wasn't talking to the press much then). Sure enough I had the magazine in hand and got autographs (the mag is also buried somewhere).

Barry asked Hooky what was the last record Hooky had played, and he replied "Come On Up (And See Me Sometime)" by Steve Harley (great tune!). Next we met Gillian and then Bernard. All of them could not have been nicer and more down-to-earth.

We sat in on the soundcheck and when Hooky played some of the bass parts to LWTUA (though they didn't play the whole song) I almost wet my pants.

Barney invited us to stop by backstage after the gig and amazingly we managed to get into the large, crowded room after the show that night. Much fragrant smoke filled the air. Barney came over and chatted with us some more, and we talked about taking him record shopping when the band returned to NYC at the end of their tour. We gave him Barry's phone number and arranged to wait for his call.

About two weeks later on a Saturday afternoon, we anxiously sat in Barry's apartment watching the telephone. Sure enough Barney called! Alas, he was too busy to meet but thanked us for the invite.

Like many young people at the time, we were in awe of JD/NO. But actually meeting them put it all into perspective. They were just normal people playing in one of the greatest rock bands of all time -- and we were all lucky enough to share that special moment in time.

Drew Olewnick wrote: Way back in 1983 at the Paradise Garage gig in NYC (the poster for that gig can be seen on the wall in the Perfect Kiss video).

My friend Barry and I went to the club in the afternoon, intending to talk to the band for a fanzine piece. I don't recall if we set anything up in advance, or if the fanzine actually existed (Barry did write up the meeting and I have a copy buried somewhere). We managed to get inside the club and almost immediately met Peter Hook. Some of you old-timers may recall an issue of the Face magazine from that time featuring a big cover story on NO, and photos of the group (which was an event unto itself as the band wasn't talking to the press much then). Sure enough I had the magazine in hand and got autographs (the mag is also buried somewhere).

Barry asked Hooky what was the last record Hooky had played, and he replied "Come On Up (And See Me Sometime)" by Steve Harley (great tune!). Next we met Gillian and then Bernard. All of them could not have been nicer and more down-to-earth.

We sat in on the soundcheck and when Hooky played some of the bass parts to LWTUA (though they didn't play the whole song) I almost wet my pants.

Barney invited us to stop by backstage after the gig and amazingly we managed to get into the large, crowded room after the show that night. Much fragrant smoke filled the air. Barney came over and chatted with us some more, and we talked about taking him record shopping when the band returned to NYC at the end of their tour. We gave him Barry's phone number and arranged to wait for his call.

About two weeks later on a Saturday afternoon, we anxiously sat in Barry's apartment watching the telephone. Sure enough Barney called! Alas, he was too busy to meet but thanked us for the invite.

Like many young people at the time, we were in awe of JD/NO. But actually meeting them put it all into perspective. They were just normal people playing in one of the greatest rock bands of all time -- and we were all lucky enough to share that special moment in time.

nice story:)

symphonie wrote:

DC wrote: Knew 'em quite well from when I used to follow Joy Div around the country. I used to talk to Ian and Hooky the most, never really got to know Barney. Nice bloke though. My sister knows them better than me, especially Steve and Gillian.

will you tell more? what was ian like to speak with? did he engage and keep eye contact in conversation or did he keep looking around the room? when was the first time you saw them - were you struck right off that they were extraordinary? was he a charismatic person? videos and dvd's don't communicate charisma.

IC was a normal friendly bloke. A couple of times he was obviously struggling with his health and didn't say much, but most of the time just wanted to talk about music, football, beer, women...!! I'd say offstage he wasn't particularly charismatic, but something happened when he went onstage.

Spotnick wrote:

Veronica wrote: Just wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what they were like in person if met for an autograph on the street, at a show, etc? Is Bernard really as grumpy as he is made out to be, or is that crap?

Thanks, Veronica

Met the 4 of them yesterday... but only chatted with Bernard & Phil really...

What did Bernard and Phil talk about?

Bernard talked about how big his penis is, if the past is anything to go by!

If that's the case, how big is it then?

Just curious :D

DC wrote: IC was a normal friendly bloke. A couple of times he was obviously struggling with his health and didn't say much, but most of the time just wanted to talk about music, football, beer, women...!! I'd say offstage he wasn't particularly charismatic, but something happened when he went onstage.

thanks for reply. when i was at the age of hearing NO for the first time and then intro'd to JD; IC was, of course, already gone. there has always been a sense of loss without having anything more then music, some vids and pictures to go by - so to hear anything from someone who was literally in the room, even the ordinary, is something.

well. you ALL know my experience on NYEve&seen scary photo! I must say, I was also really nervous about meeting /seeing them in the flesh. I was especially nervous about meeting Bernard, as he's been such a huge and enormously important feature in my life, for over 20 years, I was scared that he'd be really horrible, and I'd be so crushed!!! However, nothing could be further from the truth. He also kept thanking me for the nice things I was saying about him and the band and their music. He was also very patient with me when I told him how much I loved him....! The main thing I noticed was how 'interested' he was in what people had to say....he wasnt doing the big superstar thing (although a few of the people 'around him-security etc were..... ) He was great-he seemed like a really genuine guy- .. likes a beer, like a boogie and has got time for pissed / over emotional fans!.... (Don't think I managed to tell him I had a cat/ hamster &budgie named after him at some points in the last 25 years!!!:\ohwell: currently have 4 year old black cat---Bernard III probabaly didnt need to know that at 3am on NYeVE!!!)

Met the Hook-Monster back in 87'...NO was having a concert with SugarBoobs in Minneapolis at a concert hall ...Hooky was laying out on the steps sunning himself on the back stairs of the hall (or nursing a hangover?) when I recognized him (had the Cuttings books then so finally found out what the faceless ones looked like.)...as for autograph and Hooky mumbled something that "I from Boston" and went back to sleep (or whatever)...

Reading about their touring experiences now, I can see why he was a bit of a crab that day..

No one seems to have had a really bad experience, do they? What a class act these guys are.

I kinda mentioned this before but, after the Oakland show we had a chance to see Bernard and Hooky leaving the show. Hooky hung out with the fans waiting out back, for quite awhile. When Bernard came out he looked beat and not up to too much interaction, but he did agree to pose for a pic with the guys I went with. When he heard they were from the New Order cover band out of Seattle, Love Vigilantes, He perked right up and said he knew of them and has even visited their web site. I thought that was really kewl.

I've met them four times (+ 1 Monaco earlier) and overall I can say Steve and Gillian were very quiet but kind, Rob Gretton was absolutely wonderful, Tony Wilson too. I met Phil just once but he seems just like Pottsy, very friendly and more like a lucky fan just joining the band rather than a superstar. Andy is just the right person to replace Rob. Bernard can be different, always kind enough but it really depends on how he feels, if he doesn't feel comfortable he won't fake to have any interest in you other than shaking your hand, if he's in the right mood he can be as friendly as Hooky, who is indeed the friendliest and I can confirm he amazingly remembers people (probably he has a better memory than Bernard and wouldn't need an autocue). Who knows how many thousands faces he sees during a tour and yet he can remember you and sooner than you can wonder what's happening it's not you asking but him inviting you backstage! Though it's not as essential to meet them as years ago of course I'd be happy if it happened again when they come in Turin but funnily enough it will be more difficult to meet them in my own country than in England. I've always met them by chance, usually it was easy because we came from Italy and there wasn't a lot of people around them before shows so we didn't even try too hard and the security guys were kind with us because we travelled to see them (except Sarge of course ;) ). I know how Italian festivals are, and I'll just be one like every other person in the audience, so I'm not really expecting anything (also I don't think I'll try to catch them before the concert as I'm with my girlfriend and we'll just hang around the festival, maybe later if there's any chance of a pass)... I'll be already happy to see them play in my country and I still have all those great memories with them...

This was an amazing thread guys...loved reading everyones stories...i just met Hooky a few days ago at the after party, and i can confirm, he is a good guy, quite funny also.