Delving into over 30 songs stretching back to the 70s, Hooky and his current outfit performed the entirety of New Order albums Low-Life and Brotherhood - two records that helped shape and define post-punk and synthpop. The result was two hours teeming with heartbreak and affection.
Much like the career of the beloved bassist, the set was split into two parts dedicated to the ages of both Joy Division and New Order respectively. A fusion of the ominous and euphoric drew together a diverse crowd of men and women reliving days gone by as well as the modern youth, appreciative of an ingenious era of distinctive music we have seemingly left behind, but which we are gifted to once in a while to enjoy like a kid at Christmas.
A disheartened Peter dedicated the first song in memory of a beloved friend, as the band entered the set with the dismay of ‘Atmosphere’. Immediately driving onward came the bass-heavy ‘Digital’ breaking into an onslaught of gloomy classics from the Ian Curtis days including ‘She’s Lost Control’ and ‘Shadowplay’ from Unknown Pleasures.
After a brief interval and a beverage purchase, it was like stepping into another decade, as ‘Love Vigilantes’ introduced the album Low-Life and out fed that chorus-voiced bass we all adore from 80s Hooky. Style and energy both mutated in conjunction with synthesisers with the likes of ‘Face Up’ for the second, more ecstatic half of the night as fathers and wives jovially danced amongst groups of adolescent buddies.
As Brotherhood was unleashed, ‘Weirdo’ landed onto an electro-carnivorous crowd waiting to get a sweet taste of tempo which rolled through the set with the classic ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ still yet to hit us.
The chronology of the set played perfectly as high spirits continued to grow right up until the end of the show. A quick sing-song for bassist and birthday boy Jack Bates was shared before we were gifted the diamond which is ‘Temptation’ to pristinely polish the night dedicated to a decade rich in originality.
