New Order recently released Live in Glasgow, a live performance DVD remastered and edited hands-on by band members Peter Hook and Stephen Morris. With the rare opportunity to speak with an electronic music legend, we chatted with bassist Peter Hook about the live experience, the roots of Joy Division, the current crop of electronic bands they have influenced, and of course- the future. According to Peter, New Order has broken up and he is focusing on a new project with members of Stone Roses and the Smiths. We definitely look forward to hearing music from this new supergroup - FreeBass.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Where did the idea for the Live in Glasgow DVD come from?
Peter Hook: We'd done the Finsbury Park one, and to be honest with
you, we weren't very happy with it, Stephen and I, because of the way
it was edited. We didn't get the opportunity to do the sound, so we
felt a bit cheated by it, to be honest. So when the idea came up for
doing another one on our English tour, we were happy about it.
RS: Electronic music doesn't always translate well to the live
format. How are you bringing the electronic sounds into your live
shows?
Peter Hook: An interesting question. The interesting thing with this
one was actually mixing the sound, because generally, when these DVDs
are done, you're not involved in it. It's done by a third party. You
might get to listen to it, but this one was quite hands-on. Steven and
I were involved right from the start, from the pictures, and including
up to and doing the sound, so it was quite easy to incorporate
everything.
RS: There are also several Joy Division tracks on there. Was it
difficult to perform those songs again?
Peter Hook: No, no, not at all. We started doing it a couple of years
ago. We actually did a Joy Division set for a big cancer benefit that
happens every year in Manchester. We did a Joy Division set just to be
different, really. You know, I thought it'd be a nice idea to play all
Joy Division songs, which we did, and with that came a certain amount
of freedom to sort of indulge ourselves in the Joy Division stuff much
more. I must admit, as the pain receded, these things become easier.
So no, it was quite easy. It actually had got to the point in the
group where all the Joy Division stuff was included anyway; we've
actually grown comfortable doing that.
RS: How different do you think the sound of New Order would have
been had things happened differently? Do you think you would have gone
so electronic with Joy Division, with its original lineup?
Peter Hook: Well, the thing is, the music was evolving that direction
anyway. We'd been using electronic drums by Steven, and Bernard had
gotten into using synthesizers. Ian was a great fan of electronic
music; he was a great fan of Giorgio Moroder's music, and Kraftwerk.
So we weren't bothered about that. Kraftwerk was his love, and we
always used to play "Trans Europe Express" before we went on stage.
So I think it was something that Ian would have welcomed and
celebrated. And to be honest with you, if he hadn't died, I don't
think our music would have been much different. I think that Ian
probably would have ended up singing "Blue Monday."
RS: Was it difficult to choose who would be the singer?
Peter Hook: Not really. It evolved quite naturally because Martin
Hannett – when we went to record "Ceremony" and "In A Lonely Place,"
Martin just thought that all three of us were dreadful, that the three
of us couldn't sing; he just thought we were sh*t. I remember that
Bernard had a last go at the end, that he was convinced he could do it
better. That was how it became his vocal. Before that, the vocal on
Ceremony was a combination of the three of us. He sort of became the
singer by default, really. But as our sound evolved in New Order, it
became quite natural for him to sing, and then play around his vocal.
I think that was quite useful to creating the New Order sound. In Joy
Division, he used to play across the vocal, whereas in New Order –
because he couldn't sing and play at the same time – he used to play
round the vocal. So I think it sort of created our new sound.
