Every few years this debate comes up….
Peter Hook’s solo shows are nowhere in the same planet as New Order.
And he hasn’t released one new song of note since he started doing new order live while they came out with a fantastic album. There’s something particularly galling about him touring on the back of new order albums he has consistently bitched about. His argument is that there isn’t enough bass on Republic and yet he has toured it live!
It is true that Peter Hook brought a distinctive sound to new order. But it’s also true that Barney and Stephen brought the songs and that they progressed. Hooky drank beer, complained, never learned any new tricks while Bernard built synths from premade kits and learned how to use them and Stephen learned how to program early drum machines. The way it largely worked - and nobody disputes this (read their autobiographies!) Barney and Stephen fiddled around with synths (mainly Barney) and drum machines (Stephen) and Hooky overlaid his bass lines. Then Barney improvised some lyrics. Live, Gillian played Barney’s synth lines and Barney played guitar. Stephen added live drums over the drum machine beats. Hooky played his bass. You do the math over who was the brains.
There has always been a tremendous amount of hypocrisy about Hooky: he derides new order because it fell under Barney’s control and then with his own bands - Revenge and Monaco- copied that very sound!!
Also if you read Hooky’s books you are going to come out of it thinking he is a jerk…a like able jerk but still.
And let’s remember how the breakup happened cause facts matter. Towards the end of their last tour in the 2000s Peter gave an interview in Brazil and said new order was over. Without consulting anybody else. He left new order. He wasn’t pushed out!! There is no dispute about this!
