Legendary bassist Peter Hook (affectionately referred to by fans as ‘Hooky’) and backing band The Light will play the O2 Academy on Saturday night, and it promises to be a real treat for fans old and young. Often it can get tiresome watching members of old bands rehashing their classics, but not many of these bands have the lasting reverence of Joy Division and New Order.

Hopefully, it will be a refreshing change from Bernard Sumner’s notorious diva persona – don’t get me wrong, Sumner is still fantastic in his own right. But Hooky is a humble guy, becoming a cool uncle figure for young fans, and his lower vocal range certainly suits the old Joy Division tunes perfectly.

From looking at his recent set lists, it’s pretty much guaranteed that he will churn out all the crowd pleasers, namely Joy Div classics ‘Transmission’, ‘Shadowplay’, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and ‘Atmosphere’, as well as New Order tracks ‘Ceremony’, ‘Temptation’, ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and of course the seminal ‘Blue Monday’. How could he not? You really cannot blame him for not doing anything new; he played a crucial role in making those songs what they are, and after his estrangement from New Order, there’s all the more reason for him to celebrate this.

Zia Larty-Healy

(Image: Rotown)