Peter Hook rules out New Order reunion: "I'd rather die"

Peter Hook once again rules out any reconciliation with his former New Order bandmates. In an interview with Mojo, the musician discussed the shared induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Joy Division, while reiterating his total unwillingness to get back on stage with Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert during the ceremony set to take place in Los Angeles on November 14.

Hook called the honour "thoroughly deserved", stressing the historical importance of both bands: "Joy Division were the foundation for everything we went on to do. Then we were reborn as New Order, and between 1980 and 1990 we lived through an extraordinary period. I still believe that body of work is exceptional".

The tone shifts dramatically when the conversation turns to his personal relationships with his former bandmates. "I'll never play with them again. I'd rather die than go back to playing with those three", Hook stated, revisiting the tensions that arose after his split from the band. The bassist accused the other members of appropriating the New Order name, describing the whole affair as painful on a personal and family level too: "What they did to me and my family was terrible".

According to Hook, the split also brought a sense of liberation: "The best thing about leaving New Order was finally being able to tell the truth. For years I lived a lie just to keep up the status quo, and that's something that drains your soul".

Behind the animosity between the two sides lies a dispute that over the years has also taken on legal dimensions. At the heart of the clash are the rights tied to the New Order trademark and the use of the band's name, a feud that has definitively marked the relationship between Hook and the rest of the group.

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