Peter Hook: 69 years old, a founding member of Joy Division and New Order. Tonight, I had the honour of spending time with a legend who has shaped the UK music scene as it is today.

Review and Photos by Stuart Duthie

Hook was among the instigators of the Madchester scene of the late 1980s, notable through his and bands’ blend of indie and electronica. Joy Division is an oft-quoted influence of the Cure, U2, Radiohead and Depeche Mode. More recently Hook produced the Stone Roses (tonight’s performance is understandably dedicated to the late Mani.)

Tonight, we are treated to New Order’s 2001 album Get Ready. There was an eight-year gap between this album and its danceable predecessor Republic, with this one being much more analogue.

The album is played through with little narrative until the closing sounds of track ten Run Wild. “Playing this album has been so much more enjoyable than recording it,” Hooky tells us, adding “it was like a second honeymoon with Bernard, but all honeymoons come to an end, and we go back to real like and real-life can be brutal.” 

We then launch into trademark New Order territory with Brutal, the sound of a 1980s drum machine and the signature bass of Peter Hook played on those higher frets. This is followed by Here to Stay, their 2002 single that didn’t quite make it onto Get Ready. This was unexpected and the audience is really warming to this with nodding heads converted to moving limbs, before Hook announces a short break.

It’s a great start for tonight – The Light are their own warm-up act, and we are all looking forward to the main act!

Before long, against the strains of Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express (a favourite of that era), Peter Hook and the Light return. This is what people are here for, to hear the back catalogue of Joy Division and New Order played by one of their heroes, supported by players who bring inter-familiarity and the agglomeration of their singular talents.

The second half opens with No Love Lost which sounded fresher than the original, more polished without losing any of its zeal.

Six songs in and we have A Means To An End. There are no phones to be seen, everyone is just enjoying the music and the moment. It’s magical; it’s time travel. We are back in 1980 (although I would definitely not actually have been at a gig in 1980!)

The spell is broken by Interzone, with a performance which belies the 69 years that Peter has spent on this planet. Then we are into Shadowplay and even my son, too young to know any of tonight’s set first time round, is moving to the music.

We are all up and dancing and an unexpected inclusion of Blue Monday moves us into the Hacienda for the final part of the set. It’s definitely Saturday tonight, but it’s the mid ‘80s not mid 2020s!

All too soon we are switching back to Joy Division and close the evening with an anthemic sing along to Love Will Tear Us Apart, completely out of kilter with the emotion of the lyrics, but fully in-tune with tonight’s vibe.

This is the last date on this tour, but Peter Hook and the Light are touring Get Ready around the globe next year. It really was a pleasure, a privilege, and a lot of fun to see an icon of modern music in such an intimate venue at the O2 Academy, particularly given his intergenerational influence of the UK music scene.

Peter Hook & The Light played at O2 Academy, Leeds on Saturday 29 November 2025.