Read The Hacienda

Peter Hook, as co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, has been shaping the course of popular music for thirty years. He provided the propulsive …

Watching documentaries like The Hacienda – The Club that Shook Britain (BBC Documentary), one is left thinking about the ‘halycon’ days of The Hacienda. However, Peter Hook pulls back the sheet to reveal the reality of running a club. Although Hook is happy to engage with the usual talking points, such as Madonna playing there or the rise of House music, he also provides insight into the disaster it was from a business point of view and the impact it had.

The Haçienda was, as Hook says, in many ways the perfect example of how not to run a club – if you view a nightclub as a money-making business. But if, like the baggy trousered philanthropists Factory, you see it as an altruistic gift to your hometown and a breeding ground for the next generation of youth culture, it was, accidentally, purposefully, shambolically, anarchically, thrillingly, scarily, inspirationally, perfect. Hook appreciated the need to give something back but, he jokes, he didn’t realise that you had to give it all back. But then, as Wilson remarked: “Some people make money, others make history.”

Source: Review – The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club by Peter Hook by Luke Bainbridge

This reminded me of something that Brian Eno said in a conversation with Daniel Lanois, that ‘beautiful things grow out of shit’.

Marginalia

“Now I don’t know why, but Morrissey had always hated Joy Division. Maybe Rob got it right when after a lively debate as the cameras were turned off he turned to Morrissey and said, ‘The trouble with you, Morrissey, is that you’ve never had the guts to kill yourself like Ian. You’re fucking jealous.’ You should have seen his face as he stormed off. I laughed me bollocks off.”

Listened Peter Hook’s unknown pleasures from ABC Radio

Peter Hook is an architect of modern music. As bass player and founding member of Joy Division and New Order, his melodic high playing style changed the game. Hooky’s bands influenced countless other artists from all across the musical map. From the branches of post punk and electronic music, these two groups changed the game for all of us. Plenty of bands lifted from that blueprint too: Radiohead, Interpol, Arcade Fire, the list goes on. But what are the songs that are unknown pleasures for Peter Hook? The sparks of inspiration that led him in new direction, the music he swooned to as a fan? From The Sex Pistols to Sigue Sigue Sputnik, The Temptations to The Velvets, Hooky wound back through an extraordinary life. And shared a hell of a lot of stories. Wind back to the root of a huge family tree, with this wonderful conversation about discovering your place.

Sex Pistols – ‘Anarchy In The UK’

Lykke Li – ‘I Follow Rivers’

The Temptations – ‘Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)’

Sigue Sigue Sputnik – ‘Love Missile F1-11’

The Velvet Underground – ‘Venus In Furs’

Zane Rowe talks with Peter Hook, the bassist for Joy Division and New Order. Hook shares stories about his punk origins, the role of technology on the music of New Order, early inspirations provided by Motown, how he came about his hi bass playing style and the influence of Velvet Underground on music. In closing the discussion, Hook shares his ethos,

Everything I have done, whether it has been terrible or wonderful, has made me the person I am.