I would rather have Gillian back in the band

Nothing against Phil, but Gillian is an original member of New Order....and with NO's more synth oriented sound, one would imagine that Gillian made up a LARGE part of it in the 80s and 90s......after all she was the main keyboardist. Imagine taking out all the Keyboard in 80s New Order. I always felt like she was underappreciated and I wish she got the respected that she deserved. Obvioiusly, due to circumstances, I understand that her child is very ill and she needs to be there for him, so I do not expect her back in the band. I'm just saying that in a perfect scenario, I would prefer her over Phil.

J

Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Even if it is quite frankly ridiculous.

I suppose i would rather have Gillian during her 1980's erm... Prime?

Yes, I would agree with this idea. Phil who?

IMHO, NO need both of them : Gillian for the keyboard (for "historical reasons" and her sensibility) AND Phil whose guitar enlightens and gives more "punch" to the songs.

I don't think Gillian has ever been under appreciated by genuine NO fans.

GILLIAN!!! (echo, echo, echo)

Phil is only Gillian in 1981.

mmm, shouldn't there be a separate forum for this topic by now?

For the record, its her daughter that is sick, they dont have a son. I just saw you referred to 'him', it should be 'her'. Didn't an article by Miranda Sawyer from a a few years back (from this site) say that there was hope she would recover? Has anyone seen the poor little tot wandering around at gigs?

EDIT: Found it: here

And, for Morris, it was the beginning of what he calls 'grief', a series of events that changed him from an eccentric drunk to the more sombre man he is today. His dad became ill and died, then he and Gilbert discovered that Grace, only 18 months old, had a rare virus that affected her spine and meant she could no longer move - though there's hope that she should recover. Soon after, Morris got food poisoning, then chicken pox, then put his back out. He gave up drinking, though he allows himself a glass of wine before he goes to bed. 'I don't see the point any more to getting off your head,' he says, not disapprovingly. 'I'm just... full.'

I really don't see how the personal circumstances of band members have anything to do with you.

If you don't like the way New Order are now then just listen to your old records.

I thought it said BED

i thought it said Gillian's backing band

Thanx for the link, Mil.

Bernard wrote most of those keyboard lines in the early days.

Well, to be fair to the girl, her child is ill. If either of my children were seriously ill then they would take all my time. Good luck to their family and hopefully in time she can return if she wishes. I can only hope that she gets that opportunity.

No one, and I say No one, could insert a floppy disc into an Emulator like Gillian. Sadly that skill is no longer required.

SHEDSRUS wrote: No one, and I say No one, could insert a floppy disc into an Emulator like Gillian. Sadly that skill is no longer required.

They`ll always need that special someone to plug their equipment in properly.

I don't mind Phil being in the band...remember, it would have been hard on their child if both parents were in the band.

To be fair to Phil, he adds a lot to the band - he's a far better guitarist than Gillian, and this means that Bernard doesn't have to play as much, which can only help with the autocue reading!

You can count the amount of live keyboards these days on the fingers of one arse, which probably explains the lack of bum notes on that front!

A think a really good point was made in that it would be VERY hard on a child to have both parents in a band - probably this arrangement didnt work out in the earlier tours when the band regrouped, I don't know. But a mum would always want to be with her sick child (if shes still sick, which I really hope she isnt) and I bet Steve would rather be at home too, but there are bills to pay, so to speak. Its a shame, but a reality,and her kids need her a heck of alot more than we do - and remember, kids grow up! If she still chooses to stay at home (if the band is still going then) then its because SHE wants to - the lifestyle would be a pain after awhile, I'm sure.

But throughout all this is still CURSE THE FOOL who edited out her dancing to WIM on the 511 DVD - I would have loved to have seen that!

gillian can stay home but her pets must come back...or you lot willl never get to hear vanishing point or round and round live. (or blue monday or BLT for that matter).

Nobosy pushes "go" like our lass Gills.

Phil and Gillian are not mutually exclusive. If one truly cares about her then pray that her daughter recovers. This virus that attacked her must have set her back quite a bit even if she did recover.

Right on, Twist. What a horrible thing for a little girl and her family to go through. Thats what should be important - that the little girl gets better and can enjoy being a kid. I dearly hope she did recover and is happily mucking about backstage at festivals like all musicians kids should be!

I would rather have Steve than Gillian naturally but I do agree I like the dynamics with the original band better. I think the idea of Joy Division still being left after the changes made the transition easier to bare with. Phil is fine and does a good job but I like the original line up. Who doesn't.

Chris Romero wrote: Phil is fine and does a good job but I like the original line up. Who doesn't.

Me. I like the rockier feel that Steve allows. Visually, Gillian just stood behind the lads and never really seemed to approve. And OM's right - Bernard is just not one of them guys that can play the guitar and sing at the same time.

Besides, this is the band we've got now.

dont mind either, phil seems to enjoy touring with NO, im sure he has taught the NO a few tricks or more, not that they need it of course. in an ideal world phil is a welcome addition to NO. im sure gillian's influence on the band hasnt gone away

we had a classic band for 12-14 years and no other band have sustained that.should we not just be grateful the greatest drummer/technician is still playing and that he has a wife humble enough to realise her fulfillment of her vital motherly duties is not going to change the sound of the band by way of her absence.

Spotnick wrote: Some people should stop living in the past.

There is no "Gillian back", if she's back, Steve goes.. as simple as that... would you rather see Steve go?

seconded

Assuming she wants to come back, I'd rather have Gilian. I assume she did have a significant contribution to the band's pre-Phil sound, and the several good songs from the Other Two reinforce the idea that she is somewhat responsible for the band's sound. I also prefer a bit more synth oriented sound to a guitar rock oriented sound, though NO can do both quite well. However, I have nothing against Phil and as someone suggested having both of them in the band, I think that would give them some more versatility.