PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT – Het Depot in Leuven, Belgium – 26 January 2017
After a successful appearance at a Belgian festival last summer flamboyant bass player PETER HOOK, former member/co-founder of legendary bands JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER already returned to my home country to play a staggering 31-song set. The almost 61-year-old, tireless Mancunian musician got into a nasty legal fight with his lifelong friends Bernard Sumner & Stephen Morris when they decided a few years ago to reform New Order without him. In return Hooky started to play extensively with his proper, excellent, band THE LIGHT, performing only songs from his two best known old bands’ repertoire and… with success. On his current tour the show starts with an elevating, dancy New Order set and continues after a short break with a Joy Division mix of early punk anthems and some of the dark greatest hits. Here’s the setlist…
Nostalgia drove the highly excited crowd, with a legion of loyal British fans in front of the venue, to ecstasy and spirited sing-alongs. Peter Hook isn’t the best singer in the world but his vocal achievement is genuine, intense and honest (a couple of ones are sung by his splendid guitarist). What struck me (again) was the timeless power of most of the songs. Like they were written only yesterday. In the end it’s that imperishable quality that turns a PETER HOOK (and his cracking band) show into a fantastic night out. Here’s some magic footage of an old Mexico City concert to illustrate yesterday’s atmosphere in Belgium…
TEMPTATION (New Order)
LOVE WILL TEAR US APART (Joy Division)
And some of my pics from yesterday’s triumphant gig…
Dance, dance, dance to the radio…
Classic Hooky pose…
Tireless and victorious…
Father and son…
Peter Hook also published recently a new book ‘Substance: Inside New Order’
You can read an extensive review by British newspaper The Guardian here .
