Reunion gigs reignite epic New Order feud
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Your support makes all the difference.Peter Hook, the bassist and founding member of Joy Division and New Order, has vowed to "fuck over" his old bandmates "in any possible way" after they announced a pair of reunion gigs without inviting him.
Hook's fractious relationship with the band is one of the longest-running and, by Hook's own admission, pettiest feuds in music. One famous bust-up in the 1980s arose from Hook's irritating habit of sucking his fingers after eating crisps.
The latest outbreak of hostilities began last month when New Order announced two benefit gigs for an ill friend and long-time collaborator, Michael Shamberg. Singer Bernard Sumner and drummer Stephen Morris persuaded their band mate Gillian Gilbert to play with them for the first time in a decade, but Hook was left in the dark until after the reunion plans became public.
At the time, Hook called the decision not to contact him "very sad". Now, however, he has gone on the offensive.
"They're dickheads," he told the music website Spinner. "People go and hide, but I don't. I'm a fighter. I'm going to come out fighting."
Hook has provoked the fury of many fans for playing Joy Division songs with his new band, The Light. New Order were formed by the three remaining members of Joy Division after the death of the original lead singer, Ian Curtis.
Hook is bullish about his decision to play the songs at his gigs.
"It actually scared off a lot of the people I wanted to work with, which made me all the more determined. It's the same thing with New Order deciding to tour without me. It makes me all the more determined to fuck New Order over in any possible way I can," he said.
New Order's manager, Rebecca Boulton, declined to respond.
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