Career
Peter Hook along with his childhood friend Bernard Summer recruited a vocalist cum lyricist called Ian Curtis and formed a band called Warsaw in 1976. The band played their first gig at the Electric Circus in 1977.
The band was renamed as Joy Division in 1978. The band self-released its first Extended Play (EP) ‘An Ideal for Living’ the very same year. It featured the single ‘Warsaw’.
Joy Division gave their debut television performance on the local news show ‘Granada Reports’ hosted by Tony Wilson in September 1978.
The band’s debut album, ‘Unknown Pleasures’ was released in 1979 with Martin Hannett as producer. He experimented with a number of unusual sound effects on the album including the sound of a bottle smashing and sound of someone eating crisps.
The band’s vocalist Ian Curtis had epilepsy and suffered from frequent seizures. Joy Division went on a European tour in January 1980 during which Cutis suffered two seizures. Sick and depressed, Curtis committed suicide in May 1980.
Joy Division’s second album ‘Closer’—recorded before Curtis’s death—was released in July 1980. It peaked at No. 6 on the U.K. Albums Chart and was highly acclaimed.
The remaining members of the band were deeply hurt by Curtis’s suicide, yet they resolved to move on with their lives. The surviving members reorganized the band with new additions and renamed it New Order.
New Order’s debut album, ‘Movement’ was released in 1981. Even though the album was not a big success at the time of its release, it began to gain in popularity over the years due to its association with the erstwhile Joy Division.
The band enjoyed considerable success during the 1980s and had garnered a huge fan following. Some of their albums released during the decade were ‘Power, Corruption & Lies’ (1983), ‘Brotherhood’ (1986) and ‘Technique’ (1989).
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Their next album ‘Republic’ was out in 1993. The album peaked at No. 1 in the U.K. The band went on a hiatus that year and was reunited in 1998.
After a gap of eight years, the band’s new album ‘Get Ready’ was released in 2001. It featured the singles ’60 Miles an Hour’ and ‘Crystal’. This album’s music was different from that of its predecessors’ and had a more guitar oriented sound.
In 2005, their album ‘Waiting for the Sirens’ Call’ was out. It had the singles ‘Krafty’, ‘Jetstream’ and ‘Waiting for the Sirens’ Call’. By this time, the band was at the peak of its popularity. However due to some problems between the band members, Hook left the band in 2007.
He formed a new band Peter Hook and The Light in 2010; his son Jack is also a member. The band primarily plays the albums of Joy Division and New Order live in concerns and tours.
The band went on a world tour in 2010 and performed Joy Division’s debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ live and in full across concerts in Italy, France, Spain, U.K., New Zealand and Australia.
Hook and the band embarked on another world tour in 2011 and played Joy Division’s second album, ‘Closer’ live across Portugal, France, Spain, Finland and Norway. Over the year they performed at Brazil, Canada, Israel, Greece and Denmark.
The band has been performing the albums of not just Joy Division, but also of New Order starting from 2012. Till now they have traveled all over the world including places like Belgium, Slovenia, Hungary, Switzerland, Austria, Russia and Poland.
