A Story Of Substance

Peter Hook has become a good friend to the Coventry area in recent years. He's brought classic sets of landmark Joy Division and New Order albums to Coventry and Leamington. In addition to being present at these, I was also fortunate enough to see him in Birmingham playing a riveting NO electro set, part of a wonderful vintage dance era meets full orchestra mash up. In addition, Hooky has also released the book, Substsnce, his inside take on life as a member of a band whose indie dance crossover broke and redefined the mould.

It's took me a fair while to review it because at over 700 pages, it is like the War And Peace of musical autobiographies, documenting turbulent times that somehow consistently produced a breathtaking canon of songs and more. More includes opening Britain's most revered nightclub, being on the coolest and most chaotic record label, producing ground breaking record sleeves and many others including rescuing the football song with a number one single World Cup anthem,

I read Bernard Sumner's version of events and while it contains a fascinating insight into a troubled childhood it skips over many songs, New Order fans would find essential. Hooky by comparison is a completist. No detail is overlooked, including inserts of geek facts should you want to know which sequencer was used on tracks such as Blue Monday, the best selling twelve inch single of all time.

He also tells a story of substances, the descent into over indulgence of drugs and booze that brought casualties and survivors. At the heart of the tale is how friendship in the face of tragedy and adversity, prevailed and produced a back catalogue of sings seldom equaled. And of how the friendship between two key players became sadly fractured beyond repair.

The band were always at their most potent in backs against the wall situations of which there were many. Hooky has a candid anecdote style that takes you inside dressing rooms, hotel bars and concert rooms. Often you wonder, admidst all this, how did they produce so many staggering songs? The clue seems to be, they didn't know the rules. The achingly beautiful Your Silent Face for example has simple repitition, no chorus, a coda lyric of "Piss off" yet is a thing of great wonder.

During the band's spilt, Hooky tells of how he felt the need for legacy protection and began the epic trawl through the history of two enduring groups. It's sad lawyers will profit most from a sage born of being brought up working class with nothing but determination not to be dragged under. Hooky will always be an old punk, who somehow came through. To those who doubted his determination to fight his corner, then as a certain song says, "They never guessed how the him would scream.."

Peter Hook and The Light play the two classic Substsnce albums in Leamington on March 10th.