Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division

I never thought I'd use the word "fun" in connection with a review of anything Joy Division-related but it's accurate here. According to the I-was-there-from-the-beginning Peter Hook, behind the austere, stark, serious, arty and tragic facade the band were really just a bunch of misbehaving lads, including the self-described "working class yobbo" author (Insightful!). The book is filled with funny stories, surprising events (Hook and Morris were questioned by the police as Yorkshire Ripper suspects!), and thorough chronologies laying everything down as it happened. It's amazing just how unaware and clueless the band, their management and label were about the music industry. Yet, they achieved such great results while sticking to their ethics and playing the game their way, despite multiple disasters that seemed to occur on a daily basis (Disorder!).Hook is clearly telling his side of the story, including his tensions with the other band members that have carried on as New Order. But he does so good-naturedly, funnily, with a dose of self-reflection and an acknowledgment of his own numerous flaws. He recounts the difficult subjects of Ian Curtis' marital collapse, illness and eventual suicide with respect and consideration. Still, the band's story is presented as a great adventure: the thrill of a lifetime for a crew of unlikely lads from the north; not a miserable slog through mainstream indifference and a constant lack of funds.The tale is recounted in a lovable, sort of "first-bloke" narrative. Hook may as well have dictated the facts across a pub table. (He might have, in fact, although he says he's sober now.) What comes through most strongly is Hook's pride over the incomparable music Joy Division performed and recorded. That, and the life lessons gained from being a member of a truly legendary cult band. The book's authenticity is so pronounced because, apart from the 2 surviving band members, no one had the insight and perspective of the bearded bass player. This is a great resource for those interested in Joy Division and anyone curious about the Manchester post-punk scene of 1977-1980. Looking forward to reading Sumner's autobio now to get another perspective, although I doubt it will be as much fun as Hooky's.

I really enjoy Peter Hook's book. I went to see him and his 'Light' band 12 months ago here in Sydney (Australia) and thought it was excellent, to the point it re-kindled a dormant interest in all things Joy Division and New Order. I was mad for them in my late teens and early 20's. I had wondered about the reasons behind the acrimonious split from New Order - which for purists is pretty sad. Anyway, the book was fantastic and the rundown of each and every track on Unknown Pleasures was fantastic. I took his advice and listened to each track as I read his 'take' on it. He probably makes the split thing, and issues with Bernard Sumner a bit personal - which was somewhat uncomfortable. Though Bernie gives as good as he gets, in his own excellent book, which I purchased and read immediately after Hook's book. Sumner came across as more thoughtful and reasoned. Some have commented, they felt Hook took things a bit too far, and lacked sensitivity when talking about Ian Curtis. Perhaps, but it was very honest and shone a real human light on a guy, who while troubled and spiraling downwards, was a young northern lad, up for a laugh and a pint. The insight into working with the mad genius producer Martin Hannett - and Tony Wilson was fascinating, One thing I cannot grasp, is how apparently dirt poor they claimed to have been in what you would have assumed to be very successful years of recording and touring. If you are a fan of Joy Division and New Order, and their ground breaking music touched your life (and still may) - you will enjoy Peter Hook's account of those years - and the years since.

Very engaging. enjoyable, often very funny and also quite sad as there is a pall hanging over the story. Peter Hook writes in an intimate yet not so personal way. He's a natural story teller. I found the book revelatory in that it captures the excitement and some of the glamour and youthful exuberance of being in a band discovering and developing themselves while at the same time de-glamourizes the whole thing with the wonderful often foul mouthes english humor along with describing the conditions of touring and recording that only the young could put up with. These guys did what they did for the sheer hell of it, and that at least to me is what rock and roll (and all its sub-genres) are about. It's hard not to wonder what may have been but they certainly made their mark during their short existence. I have always been a fan of Joy Division (I still remember hearing them the first time and sensing it was them from all that I had heard and read) , and come away from their story more impressed with their music and legacy. Just a very well written book. Absolutely worth reading for any Joy Division fan, plus any fan curious about a very influential band not that well-known except by aficionados and also for anyone curious about what it really is like to be in a band trying to develop their abilities along the way, while also just surviving (for most anyway) along the way of them shooting for success.

I get it. Hooky wants to be the man who really doesn't care. The only important person in his life is Hooky. Obviously written from interview tapes that were conducted by (who cares)! "I was havin' me Sunday dinner when the phone rang. It was the Police asking if I could tell them how to get hold of Rob Gretton. I told them he was contactable. They then told me that Ian Curtis had been found dead and could I pass the message on. I said 'alright' and went back to have me dinner. The wife then said 'who was it?'. I told her..Ian's been found dead, and carried on havin' me dinner". I think this sums up Hooky totally. Self centred egotist who cares of nobody but himself. No wonder Bernard 'Barney' Albrecht/Sumner doesn't like him. He enjoys a fight though, but only if it makes him look tough and someone steps in to stop it.The blurb states 'lifts the lid on Ian Curtis'. I can assure you it does no such thing. Only Ian Curtis can 'lift the lid on Ian Curtis', and it's too late for that. The book is akin to a book written by a football hooligan. Full of Me Me Me and no substance (pun intended).

A genuine insight, warts and all, to the characters, dynamics and creative processes of this ground-breaking band. Hooky's writing style is honest, informative and frequently amusing providing the kind of insight - especially into the group songwriting process - that is usually absent from other musicIan/band histories.He never hides his negative points, but nonetheless comes across as a thoroughly likeable bloke. The tension he describes with his once best friend Barney has made me get his book too in order to build up a complete picture.

'Hooky' is the only member of Joy Division to emerge from "Touching From A Distance" with any compassion. Of course, that might be Debbie having a bit of a crush on him or just saying something at the right time, but the same shines through in this book, his story of Joy Division.I was (and am) a New Order fan, who came to Joy Division pretty late (and, I must admit, didn't know of Ian Curtis' story until much, much later), so the story of Joy Division is really just a "bunch of lads form a punk band and then, somehow, find a unique direction that lead to greater things" story and that's pretty much what Peter Hook recounts here.Scraping together money to make calls to get gigs, fix his van (which he always had to load whilst the rest of the band went off to get drunk and pick up girls) or do a recording. Putting out an EP (that sounded awful) on 7" because no-one told them it would sound awful in that format, the references to bands and performers, some long forgotten, others who have taken directions wildly different to his (Mick Hucknall? OMD - "Good band, nice blokes, but they got me into Cocaine and didn't one set up Atomic Kitten?"), the oft told story that they all just ignored the evidence of Curtis' increasing illness and the honesty that he doesn't REALLY know why Curtis killed himself on the cusp of their big breakthrough, all make personal, insightful reading, with little of the self-indulgent pomposity that more than a few musicians (and others, if we're honest) pack their memoirs with. You get the feeling that this is just Hooky saying it as he remembers it and it ending up on paper and that worked for me.Probably not THE definitive story of Joy Division, but an interesting angle and Hooky comes out of this as, basically, a decent bloke.A good read, I thought and (whether it's a plus or a minus in your view) I don't read a lot of music books.

Joy Division was without a doubt, one of the most important bands of the modern day. They practically invented goth, for better or worse, inspiring legions of clones who could only ever imitate them at the superficial "gloomy" level. Over the years, much has been written about the tragic story of this group and its late singer Ian Curtis. Films such as Anton Corbijn's "Control" ( a fantastic piece of film making, it must be said) only serve to perpetuate the myth of Curtis being this T.S. Elliot type, a brooding poet who stood apart from his friends. That he was, but only to an extent. Peter Hook's "Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division" does much to paint a far more realistic and believable portrait of the man as "one of us", and offers probably the most vital account of Joy Division's short career yet. He was the bassist, after all. I haven't even finished reading this book yet but over the last 3 days I haven't been able to put it down, and I just had to praise it.Having found myself hooked on his "The Hacienda: How Not to Run a Club" I knew this one would be just as essential. Hooky takes us from beginning to end, growing up, meeting Bernard Sumner, founding the group, success, and the sudden jolt of the end while they were on the edge of a breakthrough American tour. This, apparently, was all that Curtis wanted all along, but as anyone who knows this band is aware, his personal circumstances became too much to handle. Given the fact that Hook and the other members of Joy Division/New Order are currently bitterly estranged (a frankly sorry state of affairs for what once was one of the very finest British groups), Hook does make a few personal criticisms of Sumner and the others throughout...however, he's always quick to balance it out by praising them (especially Sumner) as musicians. He's clearly proud, and rightfully so, of being a groundbreaking bass player with lines such as "She's Lost Control" practically re-inventing the instrument in the context of modern rock, and its great to see his appreciation (in hindsight) of Martin Hannett's genius production of their music. He also gives an intriguing track-by-track commentary to the albums which is like gold dust to fans like me.However, what I admire most about this book is Hooky's down to earth nature. Just as with his book about the Hacienda, reading "Unknown Pleasures" is like hearing him reminisce casually, yet thoroughly, about those times as if you were sat having a conversation with him. Despite their austere public image, these 4 guys got up to plenty of mischief on the road just like any other band and there are plenty of funny antics to read about. Its so refreshing to see the band's story being told this way. There's been so much pretentious nonsense written about Joy Division over the years, we really don't need any more, especially not from one of the guys who was actually in Joy Division. I'm looking at you, Paul Morley. Now all that's left for Hook to do is publish the New Order book alluded to in the pages of this one. Can't wait for that.

I was never a big Joy Division fan, despite being in the same age group, until watching the Control film kindled my interest in the band and their story. . PH is one of those people whose honesty and confidence seems to stem from a flatly realistic assessment of his own and others' talents and personal traits. He doesn't try to sculpt a favourable impression of himself or anyone else through his version of events and that makes him the ideal teller of the band's story. I got this for 99p but before I'd finished I bought his book Substance as I wanted to read more of the same.