RS: In this current crop of bands out there – we mentioned a few
of them – do you have a favorite that you like to listen to?
Peter Hook: My favorite band at the moment is a group called the
Foals, from England. They're very new. They just got their record out
now, and I think they're an amazing, amazing group. My other favorite
group at the moment is The Enemy. They're from Coventry, and I think
they're wonderful. They've made a fantastic record. I recommend it
wholeheartedly. Also a band from Manchester, called the Courteeners.
They're like the new Oasis.
RS: A lot of people in bands of a certain era end up being DJs.
Have you ever followed that passion?
Peter Hook: I'm actually a DJ now, mate.
RS: You are?
Peter Hook: Yes, I DJ a lot, every weekend now. It's become my main
stock in trade. I started about four years ago, just on a whim. My
friend Manny told me that it was a great way of getting pissed for
nothing, DJing. And lo and behold, it was. But once the novelty of
getting pissed for nothing had worn off, I actually found that it was
a very enjoyable thing to do. Manny says it's the freak show circuit
– that people come and see us because we're the freaks that used to be
in a group years ago but it's been very lucrative and very enjoyable.
It's strange; it's completely opposite to being in a group, because in
a group you're surrounded by people. When you DJ, you're just on your
own, which is nice because there's no argument. When it goes well,
there's no one to share it with, because there's no one to help you.
RS: What kind of music do you play; what's your genre?
Peter Hook: I play everything from 1977 to the current day, and it's
a very enjoyable thing to do. It's a great second career, I'll tell
you.
RS: What's your favorite New Order record to DJ or dance to?
Peter Hook: My favorite New Order record? Well it's funny, I've got
a 136bpm remix of Blue Monday in a hard house style which I love
playing, because people get really surprised by it. It's nothing like
the original, much faster and much fatter, you know. I have a great
time sticking that on because it really surprises everybody.
RS: Are you a CD, vinyl, or laptop guy?
Peter Hook: CDs. I had some guy screaming at me on Saturday night, in
a gig in Blackburn, saying he wanted to hear some snap, crackle, and
pop. I said, "oh f**k off mate, have you ever tried carrying two
hundred records?" So it was quite interesting. But no, I'm a CD guy
just because I don't want my arms to reach the floor.
RS: What advice would you have for this current generation of DJs
and electronic musicians?
Peter Hook: The only advice I can offer is -- the interesting thing
about technology now is that it's made everybody able to do it, hasn't
it? And there's a lot of music about, and people are always asking me
what they can do to bring theirs out. There's only one rule – you just
have to keep going. I always work on the adage that if you do
something, there's the possibility that it could lead to something
else; and if you do nothing, you're not going to get anything at all.
RS: Very true. What would you like to say to all your dance
music fans out there?
Peter Hook: Just keep bopping. I mean, dance music is one of my
great passions, which everybody gets very surprised about, because I
come from a rock group. Even though New Order is dance electronic, I
think we're actually considered to be a rock group. But I'm a great
fan of dance music. When I look at people like Tiga, SoulWax, Chromeo,
Justice – I'd love to play mostly hard dance music when I DJ, but I
have to play a retrospective of all the years which I've been through,
which is what people expect. So no, I'm up there man, I love it.