Having spent much of last year touring Unknown Pleasures, bassist Peter Hook will continue to relive his Joy Division days in 2011, performing the band’s second album — 1980’s Closer — in May and releasing an EP of new recordings of four Joy Division songs — including one that’s never been released.
Backed by his band The Light — with son Jack Bates on bass — Hook will perform Closer for the first time on May 18 at The Factory in Manchester, according to a news release posted at NewOrderOnline. The gig comes a year to the day after Hook and Co. debuted Unknown Pleasures at the same venue; the band continues to perform that album at dates in the U.K. and Europe in March, April and May (see dates below).
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Hook says he’s prepared for more ill will from some fans, who haven’t been happy about the performances: “I expect criticism all the time now, but when it’s unjustified I will rise to it. Most people are ill-informed and it’s very unfair. You just have to follow your heart with these things.” (See video below.)
As he first told Slicing Up Eyeballs last year, Hook will release the debut EP by his group — billed as Peter Hook’s The Light featuring Rowetta — on May 2 via Hacienda Records. The four-track collection — titled 1102/2011, because it was recorded this past Feb. 11 — features the ex-Happy Mondays vocalist singing Joy Division’s “Insight,” “New Dawn Fades” and “Atmosphere,” and Hook himself handling lead vocals on “Pictures In My Mind,” an unfinished Joy Division song that Hook dusted off in concert last year.
According to today’s announcement, the Closer performance in Manchester also will be recorded for a vinyl-only release expected later in 2011. It’s not yet known whether Hook will take Closer on the road, as he has done with Unknown Pleasures.
See Peter Hook’s tour dates and the ‘1102/2011’ tracklist after the jump…
Peter Hook’s The Light performs Unknown Pleasures:
March 9: La Carene, Brest, France
March 10: Le Trabendo, Paris, France
March 11: Big Band Cafe, Caen, France
March 17: Astro Hall, Tokyo Japan
March 18: Zepp, Tokyo, Japan
March 19: Creative Centre, Osaka, Japan
March 25: Helsinki, Finland
March 27: Oslo, Norway
March 30: Rosso, Manchester, UK
April 23: Scala, London, UK
April 30: Liquid, Edinburgh, UK
May 7: Festival Donorte, Pontevedra, Spain
May 18: The Factory, Manchester (Performing ‘Closer’)
May 28: Den Haag, Holland
May 29: Eindhoven, Holland
Tracklist: Peter Hook’s The Light featuring Rowetta, 1102/2011
1. “Pictures In My Mind” (vocals by Peter Hook)
2. “Insight” (vocals by Rowetta)
3. “New Dawn Fades” (vocals by Rowetta)
4. “Atmosphere” (vocals by Rowetta)
Interview: Manchester Evening News
Video: Peter Hook’s The Light at The Factory, Manchester, 5/18/10
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Milestones: Peter Hook is 55 today; watch Joy Division’s ‘Here Are the Young Men’
- Q&A: Peter Hook talks ‘Unknown Pleasures’ tour, re-recording Joy Division
- Video: Peter Hook and Perry Farrell play Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’
- Mani accuses Peter Hook of ‘hawking his mate’s corpse around to get paid’
- Video: Peter Hook plays ‘Unknown Pleasures’ in tribute to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis
- Freebass — Peter Hook, Mani, Andy Rourke — releases debut, ‘It’s a Beautiful Life’
- Peter Hook plans Joy Division set at FAC251, ‘Unknown Pleasures’ spoken-word tour
Let it go man. Just. Let. It. Go.
Great news. Saw Unknown Pleasures live at Fac 251 and was hoping for a release. Rowetta’s vocals are awesome as are the band. Looking forward to the EP and hearing their take on Closer. Nice one, Hooky!
Revisiting the past every now and then…all right…but this is just being stuck in the past, isn’t it?
Ian must be spinning in his graaaave.
Breaks my heart to read this terrible news..
Let it go HOOK,bOW OUT WITH SOME DIGNITY
Don’t mind the live concerts – at least someone related to the band is playing the songs…just please don’t start selling the stuff…please!