NEW ORDER during their high times in the 1980s
When NEW ORDER founding member and bassist Peter Hook left the band back in 2007 in anger (and for reasons never really understood) it looked like the end of the band. But Bernard Sumner and the rest of the gang carried on after a short break, resulting in the release of Music Complete earlier this year. It’s the band’s first LP in ten years and also the first NEW ORDER album without Hook’s participation. Ever since he left the band Hook played various tribute shows with old JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER material, clearly lacking of the same popularity as before.
Now, the whole things gets a certain twist since Hook decided to take legal action against his former band mates. As NME points out the musician decided to sue the rest of the gang for ‘many millions of pounds’ of royalties. Hook claimed that Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert set up a new company to handle the band’s income after 2007, while ‘pillaging’ the group’s name and leaving him £2.3 million out of pocket. According to Hook this is just a ‘fraction’ of the money he deserves.
According to ElectronicBeats.net the band made £7.8 million since their 2011 reunion without giving Hook any of the money. Hook’s barrister is quoted by saying that the issue is ‘not about musical direction or musical differences or personality clashes, but first and foremost about wrongdoers taking control of a company and stripping it of its property.’ The remaining NEW ORDER members haven’t adressed the issue yet. We keep you informed on any news and enjoy a classic from better days with a fitting message for today.
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