Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook

Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A funny and often sad account of the band, covering the history of one of the most influential bands in alternative music. The whole history of how the band met to the tragic events of Ian Curtis's death is covered. There are early signs here too of the breakdown in the relationship between Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner, years before the break up of New Order. There are funny accounts of Hook always being the van driver and having to load the gear away at the end of gigs whilst the other band members sloped off. There are also stories of the pranks they used to play on each other as well as bands like the Buzzcock's who they supported in their early years.

Those who have read Hooks other book about the Hacienda will be pleased to see the chapters interspersed with a diary of events and he does a track by track review of Unknown Pleasures and Closer. I particularly enjoyed the details of how they recorded their songs in the studio. Martin Hannett had an often mad genius approach, making Stephen Morris take his drum kit apart and record each part individually. Or he would put in digital delays, keyboards and other effects. On one track Sumner had a sulk and wouldn't play guitar so he suggested to Sumner to record it and then play the tape backwards (Candidate). He would tell them to fuck off whilst he totally rearranged the tracks in their absence, and the other band members told Hook to go in to see what he was doing to their songs. They were not particularly happy with the finished recordings of Unknown Pleasures but eventually saw that he had helped produce a classic album.

Hook is honest about how Curtis suffered through the heavy touring they did that contributed to his more frequent epileptic attacks towards the end of Joy Division and his death. However, Curtis did not want to rest and at one point turned up to sing even though he had been given the night off. Hook describes how Curtis had two separate lives with his troubled marriage with Deborah and his relationship with the Belgian Annik Honore when touring with the band. One minute he would be joking with the band, the next minute being 'arty' with his girlfriend and friends like Genesis P Orridge from Throbbing Gristle. Hook argues that no-one really knew the real Ian Curtis so his death was a shock to everyone. The bands reaction was to continue to go into the studio and not really discuss it until years after his death.

Joy Division have always been a huge influence on me so I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As well as being a story about Joy Division it also covers some of the later years of New Order. The story of Joy Division has been written and it looks like the story of New Order will be next. Bring it on.

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