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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Okay I'm a massive Joy Division fan and in the days before everyone around the band or in it rushed wrote a memoir, or made a film, I was scrabbling around for any little clue about the band from clippings in the music press or whatever. I bought all the bootleg tapes of live gigs and listened to them for hours on end drawing my own interpretation of what was going on psychologically between the band members. And now that I've only slightly less desperately devoured the films and the books that have come out in the last decade, I feel they have added very little new insight to those I'd culled for myself twenty years ago. Which is odd because one of the books was written by the singer's wife and this one by the bass guitarist.
It's not often I'll read a book about a musician or band I'm not a massive fan of – but Joy Division hold an iconic place in British music history and all the reviews were glowing.
Oh, and it was two for £5 in HMV so, ya know...
Obviously, being there from the off bassist Peter Hook is perfectly placed to tell the story of one of the most influential bands of the last 40 years — and as with everything about the band, the book carries the long shadow of the late Ian Curtis.
And in may ways, that's what this book is about. While Hook recounts the early gigs, the writing and recording sessions etc, Ian's health and personal issues are at the forefront of his mind throughout.
Partly because they shaped the Division story, obviously, but also because the bass player is obviously still coming to terms with his friend's suicide all those years ago.
And it's that openness, that willingness to talk frankly and honestly about what Hook experienced and witnessed back than that makes Unknown Pleasures such a brilliant read.
He's frank, funny and has clearly written the whole thing himself – including the frankly fantastic track-by-track breakdown of both albums, which he rightly advises should be read while listening to the music.
The book can be a little tough to get through at times, as Hook is happily prone to wandering off at tangents meaning a more linear narrative is here in spirit only. There are also ‘timeline’ chapters which don't really add anything to the main story and should have either been incorporated into the body of the book or left behind as an interesting idea.
But such grumbles are minor, and in no way overshadow the power of this book.
It's moving, funny, insightful, informative — and, something that will surprise no one who knows me, resulted in me buying both albums and a compilation the moment I finished reading it.
Oh, and it was two for £5 in HMV so, ya know...
Obviously, being there from the off bassist Peter Hook is perfectly placed to tell the story of one of the most influential bands of the last 40 years — and as with everything about the band, the book carries the long shadow of the late Ian Curtis.
And in may ways, that's what this book is about. While Hook recounts the early gigs, the writing and recording sessions etc, Ian's health and personal issues are at the forefront of his mind throughout.
Partly because they shaped the Division story, obviously, but also because the bass player is obviously still coming to terms with his friend's suicide all those years ago.
And it's that openness, that willingness to talk frankly and honestly about what Hook experienced and witnessed back than that makes Unknown Pleasures such a brilliant read.
He's frank, funny and has clearly written the whole thing himself – including the frankly fantastic track-by-track breakdown of both albums, which he rightly advises should be read while listening to the music.
The book can be a little tough to get through at times, as Hook is happily prone to wandering off at tangents meaning a more linear narrative is here in spirit only. There are also ‘timeline’ chapters which don't really add anything to the main story and should have either been incorporated into the body of the book or left behind as an interesting idea.
But such grumbles are minor, and in no way overshadow the power of this book.
It's moving, funny, insightful, informative — and, something that will surprise no one who knows me, resulted in me buying both albums and a compilation the moment I finished reading it.
Peter Hook tal vez no sea el narrador más fiable, pero es honesto y desmitificador. Este libro está lleno de humor y dolor. Y es un pedazo de mis quince años.
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Good book, this one & I've read a lot of Factory Records history. Plenty of witty detail and Hook's honest view of the JD years, it's a fun and entertaining read with quite a lot of information I've not picked up before. If you're going to pick up any books by the band members then Hook's are the ones to go for. Morris' are entertaining in their own quirky way but Sumner's is just detached and rushed.
Really enjoyed this one, he writes really well about the songs / technical (muso) bits. Docked half a star as too many “touring japes” stories for me but still very good and a great read even if you don’t know Joy Division / New Order very well
A most, enjoyable and candid book by Peter Hook covering his early years and the career of Joy Division brought to a halt by the suicide of Ian Curtis.
Lots of great stories of life in a band, countered with the questioning of himself about why and how nothing was done to help to support Curtis.
Lots of great stories of life in a band, countered with the questioning of himself about why and how nothing was done to help to support Curtis.
Hooky could have used a more judicious editor. I grew weary of the many retellings of on-the-road Joy Division pranks (late 70s, early 80s laddism) and the troubles of the cold, broken down gig van. Still, he wears his heart on his sleeve (and there are occasional jabs at the contentious present day Sumner/Hook relationship, a kind of indie version of the great Jagger/Richards divide), and Hooky offers the first insiders looks at what made Joy Division tick. Worth a read.
This book was very interesting to me since I was a teenage/early 20s punk/goth. It covers the Joy Division years and is by one of the band members. He has a very friendly, approachable, way to writing which kept me reading.
It also made me think of the young me...how at that age my friends and I would overlook people who were actually ill and take their word that they were okay. Just like the band member's of Ian Curtis did. One of my friends from that time in my life turned out to be schizophrenic. We had warning signs he was not right in his views on reality but we brushed them off as him being weird just to be weird. i do remember one time were I thought, "OMG! Something is seriously wrong with (him)." He ended up playing it off like he was just kidding and was okay so the moment passed and I never said anything to any adult older than myself. he ended up having a break from reality and trying to choke his brother to death because the voices in the tv told him to. It wasn't surprising even back then because then all the comments and weird stuff he said about "clones taking people's places" made sense and his brush offs in us asking if he was beings serious were lifted away and the truth exposed...and verified...by his actions.
One of my friends feels guilty that she (and all of us) never did anything to help this friend but I forgive the younger me who chose to see the situations leading to the incident as the friend being weird to be weird.When you are young, unless the person is hurting themselves or seems very upset, you don't take things seriously. You feel young and indestructible. You view your friends as that way too. So, you overlook obvious warning signs and bad consequences happen because of your young nativity.
Because of this, I totally got the situation with Ian Curtis and how the band members reacted to things up to his death. When you are young you take your friend's word that they are fine and overlook so so much.
This was a really interesting book and I totally recommend it to other fans of Joy Division or the punk scene in the late 70s/early 80s.
It also made me think of the young me...how at that age my friends and I would overlook people who were actually ill and take their word that they were okay. Just like the band member's of Ian Curtis did. One of my friends from that time in my life turned out to be schizophrenic. We had warning signs he was not right in his views on reality but we brushed them off as him being weird just to be weird. i do remember one time were I thought, "OMG! Something is seriously wrong with (him)." He ended up playing it off like he was just kidding and was okay so the moment passed and I never said anything to any adult older than myself. he ended up having a break from reality and trying to choke his brother to death because the voices in the tv told him to. It wasn't surprising even back then because then all the comments and weird stuff he said about "clones taking people's places" made sense and his brush offs in us asking if he was beings serious were lifted away and the truth exposed...and verified...by his actions.
One of my friends feels guilty that she (and all of us) never did anything to help this friend but I forgive the younger me who chose to see the situations leading to the incident as the friend being weird to be weird.When you are young, unless the person is hurting themselves or seems very upset, you don't take things seriously. You feel young and indestructible. You view your friends as that way too. So, you overlook obvious warning signs and bad consequences happen because of your young nativity.
Because of this, I totally got the situation with Ian Curtis and how the band members reacted to things up to his death. When you are young you take your friend's word that they are fine and overlook so so much.
This was a really interesting book and I totally recommend it to other fans of Joy Division or the punk scene in the late 70s/early 80s.