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“If Joy Division defined my life, New Order shaped it”: a fascinating story of sex, drugs, and (indie) rock ’n’ roll; of art, money, and crass stupidity; of blind faith and amazing good luck—backed by a soundtrack of truly great songs written by wonderful musicians
In May 1980 with two acclaimed albums Joy Division had the world at their feet. Then on the eve of their ?rst American tour everything changed. The band’s troubled lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide. As Peter Hook has written, “One day we were Joy Division, then our lead singer died, and the next time we got together, we were a new band.”
That new band was New Order—their label Factory Records, their club The Haçienda—all based in Manchester, England. Their distinctive sound, a fusion of post-punk and groundbreaking electronica, paved the way for the Indie/dance music explosion that followed. This innovation would earn them the reputation as one of the most influential groups of their generation, changing the course of popular music on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite their success, New Order were always a collision of the visionary and the volatile, forged in the maverick atmosphere of their hometown, an atmosphere of creativity, epic drug use, and boundary-pushing music. More often than not, relationships in the band were fraught with tension, and New Order broke up and reformed with a frequency that kept fans, and the music press, watching their every move.
The third book in his trilogy, which started with the highly regarded The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club and the bestselling Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, Substance: Inside New Order is a no-holds-barred account of New Order’s entire twenty-seven-year history. Containing outrageous anecdotes, tales of mad excess and astonishing creative perseverance, this book is packed with rich detail, complete discographies, and fascinating technical information about how the music was made. It is also a rollicking read, sure to impress with Hook’s talent for recalling the most minute and intimate detail and spinning epic yarns.