'Bernard Sumner' - David Nolan's Book

Don`t tell me how it ends.

Adam Coglan wrote: Don`t tell me how it ends.

he sailed off into the sunset

Daniel The Boy B wrote:

Adam Coglan wrote: Don`t tell me how it ends.

he sailed off into the sunset

spoil sport

I'll be interested to read whether Bernard confesses to his racist activities in the late sixties in the book. Quite how Joy Division got such an undeserved reputation for being Nazis I really cannot begin to imagine.

What Johnny said

For the record, I was standing next to Johnny when I saw the worst racism I've witnessed this century - at the football game in Serbia. All of us just laughed and said the same thing - it's a 70's world over there in the South Stand. We've all moved on from where we, as a culture, may have been. And thank god for that.

And also what Shug said - all contributions welcome, Small Boy!

Yes, perhaps I am being a little bit evil to bring this up as it was almost forty years ago and no doubt every single one of us at that school had a different attitude to racism then. That awful term "Paki Bashing" was prevalent then and it was good fun to go out at night pretending that we would go paki bashing. Truth was there were never any Pakistanis in Salford then anyway and very few now. Do you blame them you may say?

Looking forward to reading the book anyway.

Just one further story (hopefully not too embarrassing)that could possibly shed light on the current war betwen Bernard and Hooky. Their relationship at school was very much on the basis that Hooky would do whatever Bernard said. This wasnt just confined to Hooky but to most people who came into contact with Bernard who was to a large extent feared and not particularly well liked by a lot of people. A mate of mine came round after school and when I opened the door I said to him, "Tony, I'm not supposed to be speaking to you. Barney has issued a schoolwide edict that you have to be sent to Coventry after that incident in chemistry when everyone had to do detention except you". Such was the power that Bernard was able to hold over a large section of people

So I believe that Hooky has eventually got fed up of Bernard dictating all the moves for New Order and with Bernards attitude that New Order is his band and has voiced his own opinions for once.

But just to counterbalance the seemingly anti-Bernard bias of this post, Tony Wilson once told me that Bernard was a genius and I agree, although he did exceedingly well to disguise that from me for a very long time!

Genius

so no stories of drunken orgies or details of when he cheated on his first wife?

Did he pick on benders as well?

Black Monday wrote: so no stories of drunken orgies or details of when he cheated on his first wife?

Wasn't that in connection to the infamous Smash Hits USA tour article?

uh yes, Tony Wilson said his wife left him because Sumner was photographed with another women leaving his dressing room half naked or something to that effect.

Yes, sadly I do like the gossip and the private stuff which is what I was hoping for with this Bernard Sumner stuff. Especially since someone on these boards said they witnessed Bernard cozying up to another man! I don't believe it (when pressed for details this person was caught lying) and wondered if the book says anything about that.

I'll get the book anyway.

Chris, I certainly didnt mean my original post as a criticism of David Nolans intention for this book. I was just disappointed that a book that was so close to my heart was so riddled with fundamental errors, call me old fashioned but it kind of devalues it a bit in my eyes. I really rate the book though, I think it gives a whole new insight on a lot of stories that we all know about because weve heard them ad nauseum from the same old faces. I think its a really brave thing to take on as a project too. We all know that Bernards probably not the easiest subject for an in depth biography, and this is far from that but it certainly explains the New Order dynamic a lot better than most of the stuff Ive read. Bernards take on the Republic sessions are especially enlightening, and itll also put to rest the whole debate that he met his missus on the set of the Round and Round shoot.

Black Monday wrote: uh yes, Tony Wilson said his wife left him because Sumner was photographed with another women leaving his dressing room half naked or something to that effect.

quote]

I remember reading the Smash Hits article at the time (I didn't, however, realise that Sumner was married in those days though). I also remember a subsequent piece (perhaps in the NME?) where the female author of the SH article was rounded upon.

I can't remember the pic though.