(Photo above by Adam Kennedy. Main Hooky black and white photo by Mark L Hill)
Rewind Festival always books legends, and 2024 is no exception. Joining the Jacksons, Billy Ocean and Bad Manners are Peter Hook And The Light. Formed by “Hooky” in 2010, Peter Hook And The Light celebrates the back catalogues of seminal bands New Order and Joy Divison, of whom Hooky was a founding member. The tracks speak for themselves, ‘Blue Monday’, ‘World In Motion’, ‘Transmission’ and of course ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, to name but four. Original Rock’s Guy Shankland caught up with Hooky a few days before he headed down to the glorious riverside Rewind South setting in picturesque Henley-On-Thames.
Guy Shankland. How are you? Looking forward to Rewind South?
Peter Hook. “Yeah, we’ve done a lot of festivals, and getting all three Rewinds this year, which is the most we’ve ever done, is a great compliment. The man in charge is such a lovely bloke, and he was there when I needed him, let’s put it that way, and now I’m delighted to be of service now he needs me (laughing). It’s a wonderful institution, and I was delighted to see that Live Nation (A multinational ticket & entertainment company that now owns Ticketmaster)) didn’t get their way, to say the least; you can’t have everything, fellas! The people have spoken, which I was very very pleased about.
They (Rewind Festivals) are incredible atmospheres you can only dream about. When I did the New Order book, I realised how vital the Eighties was to New Order. We began in May 1980 and finished in 1990 with the World Cup song (World In Motion), so those ten years and the reach that music had and continues to have is very important to me, whether I like it or not. When you go to these festivals and see everyone joining in on what is a huge celebration (pausing) it’s just great. I mean some of the costumes…We played one in Perth and some of the outfits, oh my God, they were breathtaking. People put so much effort into enjoying themselves, regardless of the bloody English weather. Every single one of them deserves a bloody medal, even before they get through the door. The weather was a bit dodgy on the way up, so I put my raincoat in the car, just in case, but luckily, when we got there, it was a lovely day, just incredible, and the sun made it all the better. You know what I love? Whether it’s Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales, we never back down from a bit of rain!”
GS. I’ve been to every Rewind, and I’m not sure the artists understand what these songs mean to people. When you played ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ in 2021, the afternoon sun started to set, which was magical.
PH. “When I was working with the boys from Heaven 17 on BAF, that was my first foray into it (Rewind). There were about eight singers, and you’d get two songs. My God, I was with Carol Decker and people I’d never get to meet because our paths wouldn’t cross. It’s about respect, and I’ve always had a tremendous respect for audiences because I share the same things. The highlight of the last Rewind we played was getting me a picture with Rick Astley! I’m no different. I get starstruck by them all. Kim Wilde blew me a kiss, and I was over the bloody moon. Typically, I have to say, there isn’t that variety at the other festivals I play. That’s the great thing about Rewind: one minute, you’re hobnobbing it with Thomas Dolby or Bannaramma, and you’ve all got history. We used to knock about with Bannaramma in Groucho’s with Kieth Allen; we all, you know (pausing) I’ve drunk with Kylie and Danni Minogue in the Metropolitan; our histories have always overlapped. I love how he runs it; you know, the first seven bands that play, he pulls their name out of a hat. Did you know that? (GS, Nope.) Then, no one can argue about where they are on the bill. When we played in Perth, Selecter were on before us, and then we went on after. You can’t moan about where you are on the bill; we all know that’s how it’s done, and it’s cool. What’s funny is with New Order, you got so used to playing in the dark and the gravitas that came with playing in the dark, so the first time I stepped into the light, literally, that took a bit of getting used to. Now I realise you go onstage like we did at three forty. You still do the same show, and the crowd is up for it, as they are at eleven o’clock at night. We’re all showing the same amount of respect to our circumstances; it’s good.”
GS. Since you’ve played both Rewind and Rebellion, is there any festival you couldn’t or wouldn’t play?
PH. “Oh God, there might be a political reason as to why not. I have enough faith (pausing). I was a DJ and DJ’d for five or six years, and talk about a mismatch; if I had a pound for every time I got bottled off, in Rimini in Italy or Greece, even in England, for God’s sake, you still went out there. I think everyone (festival) is a challenge, and sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose, but I have complete faith in the music and the boys, so I don’t think there is anywhere. Promoters don’t do mismatches these days; they’re cautious because of the amounts of money involved and don’t want to make a mess of it. So no, I’m happy; Barney once said to me, “You’d play Beruit, you, you bastard,” I was like, yeah, I’ll play Beruit, why not?”
GS. What advice would you give any young musicians coming through now?
PH. “Well, looking at those posters you’ve got behind you (in case you’re wondering, Motorhead, Clash, Specials, Wildhearts, Cock Sparrer and Augustines), we’ve had a great innings as music fans, and you’ve got a couple of my favourite bands there, and I’ve grown up with those people, and I adored what they did. I gave my life meaning. (pausing) It’s all about songwriting; it has to be said, and when you’ve written a song, you’ve got to be able to go out and perform it. I like to think that anyone who looks at us as The Light feels connected and that you’re doing it for the right reason because you’re immensely proud of it and just love it. I was watching From The Jam; you know I love Paul Weller and The Jam and was lucky enough to see them the first time around, but (FTJ) do a great job of capturing the spirit. I was chatting to JJ Burnell from the Stranglers (changing tact). I remember going to see them play in Stoke and being stood and the foot of the stage looking up because he was my absolute fucking hero. I remember running around and getting a pen and a piece of paper so I could jot down what equipment he was using, and then I went and bought it. Hiwatt amp, a Vox 2×18 cab, he had a Fender, but I didn’t like them because my fingers are too small to around the flat neck. There I am, stood with him, and he’s the only original left, and he said to me, “In many ways, Hooky, you’re the only one out of Joy Divison left”, and I was like, oh…You know, sometimes, your dreams can come true in this business. So my message to the people starting out now is to look at the people you love because one day, if you work hard enough and put your heart and soul into it, one day you’ll be enjoying the fruits of your bloody labour. It is hard work because now you have to do everything. Me and Mani have had this conversation many times because all we had to do was turn up; it didn’t even matter if we were pissed or not; just turn up, and someone looked after everything else, which is probably why we’ve both made so many finical mistakes(Chuckling). Nowadays, these kids have to be alot more responsible; they have to be better educated in all the aspects of what is available on the internet. Self-promotion, self-financing and all those things we were trying to get away from you now have to be very good at it, but it does come down to songwriting because if you don’t write those tunes. The only way to make it is by not stopping; as soon as you stop, you sink.”
Limited tickets remain for the last Rewind Festival of the season and can be purchased from the link below.
https://south.rewindfestival.com/tickets
