Monday, 06 October 2025

I love fun of Rewind, says ‘serious’ pop star

I love fun of Rewind, says ‘serious’ pop star

DESPITE being seen as serious and “cool”, Peter Hook says he’s looking forward to performing at the fun-filled Rewind South Festival.

The former bass guitarist with Joy Division and New Order has seen some dark days in his long musical career but fully embraces this happy celebration of all things retro.

Peter, 68, who is now frontman of Peter Hook and The Light, says: “We first started doing Rewind, oh my god, a long time ago now.

“We’ve been The Light for 14 years and when it began I was sort of proving myself, shall we say, to our fans and we got the opportunity to play Rewind.

“The first one we did was in Cheshire, just near my house, and the atmosphere was fantastic.

“Weirdly, a lot of my friends, particularly my gay friends, went to Rewind every year and I think they maybe thought it wasn’t cool enough for me.

“They were all camping and I was like, ‘Oh god, you never said’ and they said, ‘We didn’t think you’d like it’.

“When we go, they’re all there and have a great time. I must admit they are all wrecked after it.

“Everybody gets into the spirit of it. Everybody dresses up and the costumes are amazing. It really is a feast for the eyes, never mind the ears.”

Peter, or “Hooky”, co-founded Joy Division in 1976 in his home town of Salford with singer, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner (guitars and keyboards) and Stephen Morris (drums).

They achieved success with songs including Love Will Tear Us Apart, Transmission and Dead Souls.

Curtis, who suffered from epilepsy and depression, killed himself in May 1980.

Later that year, the remaining band members formed New Order with keyboard player Gillian Gilbert and developed more of a synth-pop sound.

The band had hits including True Faith, World in Motion and Blue Monday, which became the best-selling 12-inch single of all time.

They split up after their appearance at Reading Festival in 1993 before reuniting five years later.

After various hiatuses and changes, they became embroiled in a legal dispute, which was not finally resolved until 2015 — five years after Peter had formed Peter Hook and The Light.

He says appearing at Rewind turned out to be a good choice.

“I mean, as New Order, we never did anything like that at all but it didn’t take a genius to work out that really as a celebration of the Eighties it was full of your fans anyway.

“Once New Order split, I learned that we’d missed out on a lot of fun things to do and this is one of them.

“It’s always a pleasure to do and you get looked after wonderfully. I know all the staff there now, so it really is like coming home, you know? New Order were a complete product of the Eighties. We started in May 1980 and in 1990 we had the World Cup song [World in Motion] so I feel like I’m in good company.

“When I was last there Kim Wilde did blow me a kiss and I don’t know who was more shocked, me or my wife.

“But the highlight for me was having my picture taken with Rick Astley.

“That’s the strange thing about being in a group like New Order and Joy Division — we were considered to be very serious, very sort of cool and aloof, when in reality we’re not.

“I met a mixture of all these people, from bloody Kylie Minogue right the way through to, you name it, Tears for Fears and, god, Thomas Dolby — I remember humping the gear into the Haçienda in Manchester when he played there.

“You know all these people as you’ve worked with them. We’re all there for the same reason and that’s to thank the people who bought our records and were our fans and now bring their children along so they’re our fans.

“As you get a bit older, especially as a musician, you realise that this wonderful business that we’re all involved in is a bit of a game. We can all relish and enjoy the fact that sometimes we don’t have to take it that seriously and it’s about letting your hair down, getting together with like-minded people.

“Every time I see a Rewind audience, it always brings a big smile to my face.

“And you’re in a lovely place in Henley. Me and the wife were driving around looking at it very fondly, thinking this would be a nice place to end up, bar the traffic of course.”

Peter, who sings as well as playing bass, says the band have tailored the act to suit the occasion.

“It’s quite a funny because our songs are quite long but you’re not on for long at Rewind,” he says.

“I actually said to the lads, ‘We should do a few single edits and get a few more songs in’ so we’re actually playing seven this time, which I’m over the moon about.

“Did you know that the bands’ names are put in a hat and drawn out for when you come out and play, so there’s no arguing?

“You do have to get used to playing in daylight with Rewind, which is quite interesting.

“With New Order, we always seemed to play in the dark, which I must admit suited our dark look on it all.

“With this, it doesn’t bother me at all. Over the years I’ve got to realise that being able to play, especially play to people that want to hear you, is the best thing, so whether it’s in the light or the dark, behind closed doors or down a bloody well, I don’t care.

“They’re always such great audiences and everybody gets into the spirit of it, so they’re an absolute pleasure to play.”

• Peter Hook and The Light play Rewind South at Temple Island Meadows on Sunday, August 18. For more information and to book tickets, visit
south.rewindfestival.com

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