Peter Hook: Substance: Inside New Order

I just find it odd that after all the bile he has unleashed at New Order, and Bernard in particular saying how he was the victim, that up until now he has remained silent about being an abused husband. You would think that if he was the victim of abuse that once the marriage came to end he would be free and shot of her, but didn’t he get into a very public brawl with Caroline’s new boyfriend/partner that made the papers, hardly the behavior of somebody who was an abused victim in a marriage?

I'm pretty astonished with some of the outcry at Hooky's revelation. I don't recall seeing people suggesting the Savile abuse victims should keep silent since he was unable to defend himself (to draw a parallel with the situation, rather than severity of the crimes)

There were numerous victims of Jimmy Saville. He was a prolific sex pest. Complaints and allegations had been made against him when he was alive and dismissed by the authorities. They didn't all just come out of the woodwork when he died. He was lucky (if that's the word) to evade arrest and be trialled for his crimes for so long. He had friends and confidantes in high places. He also had the wealth to use to cover his tracks. I hardly think this is comparable in all honesty.

"Putting cigarettes out on my arm, attacking me with bottles, knives, chairs and other assorted furniture"

Leaving aside the suspicious timing - am I missing something, but he looks perfectly capable of defending himself against a woman especially one not in the greatest of health. And no one seems to have noticed anything amiss at the time, or kept very quiet if they did. It sounds like the kind of violence that would leave its mark - cigarette burns would leave a mark. A bottle attack, if directed at the face, would leave horrendous highly visible bruising and cuts. Did she attack his leg with a bottle perhaps? Did she (again, while not in the greatest of health) batter him with a chair, yet with no apparent bruising? Attack with a knife could be fatal, there would be no hiding it. At the very least, photographic evidence is called for. 20 years ago, it was before everyone had a camera on their phone, but he was in the public eye. Mental abuse is more plausible (to an outsider, anyway) but once again, we’re getting only one side of the story.

I don’t think Caroline Aherne had quite the same teflon coating that Savile had either.

Sounds like the book will be a work of fiction - not that I'll be reading it.

Yeah... She certainly looks like one dangerous, violent bundle of rage - http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/41a84e0f663aaac2c316f1d7af6d902047c38fac.jpg - and Hooky has a reputation for shying away from confrontation. When I was at school my teacher said the WORST THING you can EVER do is split an infinitive. Interesting cos he was later outed as a pedo.

BazG wrote: There were numerous victims of Jimmy Saville.

Yeah, one or two.

Substance: Inside New Order by Peter Hook review – as debauched as Led Zep

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The poblems started when Ian was born. And Bernard. And me. Bastards. Things were all right before that. I hate Tony for doing that. It's like Gillian won the snatch off my prize before the Pet Shop Boys won it. I honestly think if I hadn't hung my chicken on a kitchen in February next year she wouldn't been in Joy Division either too.

If folk think Hooky shoulda woulda coulda revealed all about Mrs Merton being violent towards him before now then, er, when exactly? In the middle of promoting Get Ready? Or before the encore of a Light gig? On Twitter?

He referred to her in the Joy Division book briefly in less than flattering terms so I, for one, was expecting some salacious revelation like this anyway.

People are getting on with the job of taking the piss out of Hooky already for this, bravo, low hanging fruit and all that, so I guess we'd best hope he has made it all up because if he hasn't then the abused is getting abused again.

As anyone paying the remotest attention to my posts in recent years would know, I cannot stand Peter Hook these days.

I rarely trust a word from his bitter mouth or pen.

But I for one, for what little it is worth, do not think he's lying about this. I too remember him alluding to unspecified issues with CA in the past. So this is what he meant.

I think he is well within his rights to put this in his autobiography.

But I won't be reading it - he's had all the coin he'll ever get from me.

Rorschach wrote: But I for one, for what little it is worth, do not think he's lying about this. I too remember him alluding to unspecified issues with CA in the past. So this is what he meant.

Somebody said something similar in the "below the line" comments in this Mirror article: "he did...i remember him doing a piece in the 90s about it...no one cared then". So maybe there is some truth to it, though I can't help wondering if each gave as good as they got. I guess we'll never know.

I have a genuine question about the "timing" of this though: Did Hook/ Simon & Schuster specifically release this bit about Aherne, or did the media choose to pick up on this bit once they received their advance copies?

It's a BIG book. Arrived in post today . Early flick through , some interesting pics and a lot of the book looks interesting but I'm not sure if I'm dreading reading it or if am excited to start reading it. Bit of both I guess.

Cranelane wrote: Substance: Inside New Order by Peter Hook review – as debauched as Led Zep

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'The band began in 1980, hastily formed from the remnants of Joy Division, a more tormented, more shortlived group whose singer Ian Curtis killed himself.' I'm sure anyone who's this interested in N O will be unaware of this fascinating detail. I couldn't even finish the review - I'm not gonna even start the book. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Fotzepolitic wrote: It's a BIG book. Arrived in post today .

So you took the plunge. 700 pages I hear. I might have a look once it ends up in paperback (and the price gets slashed to £4.99).

Oh look, a little advert type thingy here. The soundtrack seems to have drums but alas, no bass.

[TWITTER]784044011849977856[/TWITTER]

Incidentally Hook did an interview with BBC Radio Scotland recently (1hr10 to 1hr25). At the start he is asked what year Quincey Jones remixed BM to which he answers, 1985. I hope he's a bit more accurate than that in the book. He also says that NO started in 1980 and "literally finished in 1990 with the world cup song". I hope he's a bit more accurate than that in the book too (or am I misunderstanding him?). He talks about Caroline Aherne as well at 1hr20 (after Crystal by some band that presumably can't be NO).

2nd EDIT: I'm not sure why but they seem to have shortened the show now from 2 hours to 1.54. The timings above are now 6 minutes out. Hook bit now starts around 1.04 instead of 1.10.

Maybe he meant 85 was when they signed to Qwest - and 1990 was the beginning of the end for Oh No Don't Fucking Go Through This Again. Or maybe he just totally talking utter complete wank as usual. Either way it's a fairly awesome way to inspire confidence in your ''''''''''autobiography''''''''''.

Maybe she just got tired of his ponytale and tried to snip it . Can't say I blame her. I comment not knowing who the commedienne is, but she must have been a strong ,agile woman with pugilistic finesse. Poor hooky , if only he hadn't suffered the humiliation of riding on bernard's scooter holding bernard tightly for several years in his early manhood formative years

Just when you thought KIC couldn't get any more bizarre...

Fotzepolitic wrote: It's a BIG book.

A friend picked me up a signed copy (I couldn't make the evening, I was at a funeral). I was very surprised how big it is!

Anyone else order a signed copy from Recordstore? The pre-order page (now sold out) says the book is being released on the 20th of October yet my order history says the 6th. Has anyone received a copy from them yet?

I ordered mine the same time I started this thread and have had nothing either.

I'm looking for an unsigned copy. 'Music that changed history...' Like One True Passion. Every time I read this kind of thing I'm bemused. Don't wanna play Devil's advocate - I'm obviously a fan - but honestly, can anyone objectively justify this kind of comment? Some grrrrreat singles (one of which they decided to release 4084975976549654 times) and two awesome LPs (83 and 89). Otherwise, I just don't get the mystique around the band. Love the new album, but...

Recordstore just got back to me. Signed copies are being shipped around the 20-21st as they are waiting for Hooky to sign them.

Hooky begins the book by, surprise surprise, slagging somebody off.That somebody though isn't Barney it's John Robie.Robie in Hooky's opinion was the beginning of the end for New Order.Robie brought in verse/chorus/verse/chorus (for Shellshock), he brought in backing singers and in general a more traditional and bland way of songwriting that New Order until then had never entertained and changed Barney's musical mindset (in Hooky's opinion).I can kind of see his point but then a few years after Shellshock NO went on to create Technique with fantastic songs like All The Way and Vanishing Point.

Fotzepolitic wrote: it's John Robie.

Amazon's "look Inside" feature allowed me to read that bit. I didn't realise they went to the Pretty In Pink premiere in the U.S. It's a hard life eh? The vol-au-vent in the face and ensuing fight gave me a chuckle actually, as did "Suzanne Vega burst out crying again" (might be a bit of poetic licence there though).

Went to the event in Bath last night and it was an absolute delight. He seriously knows his stuff. Which seems obvious, but Bernard certainly doesn't, be that memory or whatever. He answered questions on really difficult subjects such as his criticism of Caroline Aherne and whether he still felt a bond with Bernard. He was funny, he was interesting, I really could not recommend it more. Put your opinions on who's right/wrong to one side and come and listen to him talk at length, not media soundbites. You won't regret it.

PS added bonus is he said Monaco will be returning in 2017!

Read half of it so far, have to say finding it a difficult read. Getting quite tiresome and a little boring with tales of shagging exploits and drug taking. Fair enough we know it went on, but he certainly is milking it. His disdain for 'the others' (as he often refers to them) is also quite evident and , once again, after the 100th reference a little boring. I'll try and get through to the end, but not a book I'll be revisiting I think. Most interesting parts are when he actually talks about the albums and recordings and gives some insight into his opinion of the songs.

"Robie brought in verse/chorus/verse/chorus (for Shellshock), he brought in backing singers and in general a more traditional and bland way of songwriting that New Order until then had never entertained and changed Barney's musical mindset (in Hooky's opinion)."

Interesting... but I love some of the Monaco "traditionally" structured songs, especially the ones chock full of backing singers... so... hey... what... I dunno.

YourSilentFace wrote: Recordstore just got back to me. Signed copies are being shipped around the 20-21st as they are waiting for Hooky to sign them.

Thanks for that - it would have been too easy for him to just sign the books ahead of the release date, wouldn't it?

A poor read tbh. Lays into everyone - Bernard gets dogs abuse all the way through, Gillian is dismissed out of hand entirely and Steve barely gets a mention.

The whole thing revolves around how his bass was sabotaged out of records, Bernard's alleged dictatorial tendencies and ridiculous amounts of drugs and groupies.

Milkshock wrote: A poor read tbh. Lays into everyone - Bernard gets dogs abuse all the way through, Gillian is dismissed out of hand entirely and Steve barely gets a mention.

The whole thing revolves around how his bass was sabotaged out of records, Bernard's alleged dictatorial tendencies and ridiculous amounts of drugs and groupies.

I'm only up to Power Corruption and Lies and am finding the constant sniping at Bernard to be very off putting. You would have thought someone would have said, remember a lot of readers won't have sides so go easy on the slagging off.