Peter Hook

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Peter Hook
Peter Hook at a New Order gig in Manchester (Nov 2005).
Peter Hook at a New Order gig in Manchester (Nov 2005).
Background information
Birth name Peter Hook
Born February 13, 1956 (age 50)
England Salford, England
Instrument(s) Bass guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Associated
acts		 Joy Division
New Order

Peter "Hooky" Hook (born February 13, 1956 in Salford, Lancashire) was the bass player for the English Post-Punk band Joy Division, and currently for the techno/rock band New Order.

Hook was a co-founder of Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-70's. Together, they recruited vocalist Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris to complete the quartet. The band reformed as New Order following Curtis' suicide.

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[edit] Playing style

When bassist for Joy Division, Hook was described as "a bass player who thought he was playing lead guitar" (similar statements have been made about The Who's John Entwistle and Yes's Chris Squire). Hook's unique melodic style of bass playing continued while in New Order. This unusual approach was largely influenced, Hook reports, by the inexpensive, second-hand, low-quality equipment he played early in his career. With such shoddy gear he was only able to hear his amplifier clearly when he played higher pitched notes.

His playing position is also unusual. He tends to wear his bass hanging down around knee-level, with an extra-long strap, and then staggers around the stage while playing. The low-slung style was copied by Nicky Wire of The Manic Street Preachers and Simon Gallup from The Cure, with whom Joy Division performed as backing band at the legendary Marquee Club in 1979.

Hook also contributed backing vocals on numerous Joy Division songs and sang lead on two New Order songs (Dreams Never End and Doubts Even Here from the 1981 LP Movement).

With New Order's ever increasing use of sequenced synthesized bass, especially throughout most of 1989's Technique and 1993's Republic, Hook's bass playing became ever more melodic and rhythmic, often exploiting the baritone guitar range of the Shergold Marathon 6 string bass guitar which has a 30" scale putting it between normal bass (34") and guitar (around 25").

[edit] Other work

Hook also recorded two albums each with the bands Revenge and Monaco (both as bassist, keyboardist and lead vocalist), the latter of which scored a club and alternative-radio hit What Do You Want From Me? in 1997.

In the late 1980s, Hook also worked as a producer for bands such as Inspiral Carpets and The Stone Roses. In 2003 he contributed his distinctive bass to a number of tracks on Hybrid's album Morning Sci-Fi, including the single "True to Form". He is currently in a band called Freebass with bass players Mani (ex-The Stone Roses) and Andy Rourke (ex-The Smiths) and still performs with New Order. He also spins as DJ for some global raves.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] External links

New Order
Bernard Sumner | Peter Hook | Stephen Morris | Phil Cunningham
Former member: Gillian Gilbert
Discography
Albums: Movement | Power, Corruption & Lies | Low-Life | Brotherhood |
Technique | Republic | Get Ready | Waiting for the Sirens' Call
Compilation Albums: Substance | (The Best of) New Order |
(The Rest of) New Order | International | Retro | Singles
EPs: 1981-1982 New Order | Peel Sessions 1982 | Peel Sessions 1981 |
The Peter Saville Show Soundtrack
Singles: New Order discography
Related articles
Side projects: Electronic | Revenge | Monaco | The Other Two
Topics: Joy Division | Factory Records | The Haçienda | 24 Hour Party People
People: Ian Curtis | Martin Hannett | Peter Saville | Tony Wilson | Rob Gretton | Stephen Hague
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