“Play it high, Hooky… Play it high!”: 7 Songs inspired by Peter Hook
The Joy Division and New Order bassist has inspired the likes of The Killers, Fontaines D.C. and more.
Photo: Helen Millington
Picture the scene. It’s 1978. Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Steven Morris, better known as Joy Division, are rehearsing in their regular space at TJ Davidson’s rehearsal rooms in Manchester. The group of 20-something Northerners stand around in the drab stretches of industrial wreckage, holes etched in the ceilings above. They are working on the batch of material that will become known as the 1979 post-punk landmark Unknown Pleasures. It is here that Peter ‘Hooky’ Hook’s iconic bass sound is born.
Original Illustration by Jacob Ainsworth
In his 2012 memoir Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, Hook details a moment in which Curtis noticed the bass lines being played higher up along the fretboard than in the group’s earlier material. Curtis, noticing the way in which the bass melodies could uniquely lead the songs in a manner that the instrument isn’t conventionally supposed to do, cried out to his bandmate, “Play it high, Hooky! Play it high! It sounds great when you play it high!”. With this passionate encouragement, Hook progressively leant into this style of playing, crafting hypnotic melodies that Curtis could style a vocal around — the most iconic example of such being Love Will Tear Us Apart.
There were other reasons for Hook’s bass style, of course: Hook’s affinity for the mentality of the Sex Pistols, an ethos centred around spitting in the face of pre-defined expectations, whether social, political or musical (“Why should I follow the guitarist? The guitarist should follow me.”).
Another reason is the simple fact of Joy Division’s music gear at the time not being very good. Hook’s amp was muffled, distorted and unable to deliver a crisp low-end bass frequency in rehearsal. Put simply, he claims that he played high so he could actually hear himself during practices. This explanation, whilst not as romantic as Curtis’ guiding voice, wonderfully encapsulates the appeal of a working-class musician who refused to do things on other peoples’ terms… innovation through lack of material means.
Playing melodies high up the fretboard, loud in the mix, and drenched in a colourful chorus pedal effect, Hook’s sound has influenced countless artists. Here are just a handful of examples of the ever-lasting influence that the bass sound of Joy Division and New Order’s Peter Hook has had on contemporary music.
Mr Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Mix) (8:48) — The Killers
What better way to start off this list than with a band who got their name from a New Order music video? The Las Vegas neo-new-wavers found their group name in the fictional rock band “The Killers” who starred in the music video for New Order’s 2001 comeback single Crystal.
It comes as no surprise that the arcing melodies of Peter Hook were never far from The Killers’ musical radar, with their debut LP Hot Fuss owing to New Order’s bass-led synth-pop. But it’s in electronic musician Jacques Lu Cont’s beautifully bitter-sweet remix of Mr Brightside that Hook’s influence takes centre stage. It’s a perfect 12” single — made complete in its outro with a gleaming, glossy lead bass line. Trust me, it’s worth the seven-minute wait.
2. Come As You Are (3:39) — Nirvana
We know what you’re thinking — that Nirvana nicked the iconic bass riff for Come As You Are from the New Wave classic Eighties by Killing Joke. It’s an often-cited example of shameless musical magpie-ing, with bassist Krist Novoselic plucking his note choices from Killing Joke’s fuzzy guitar line, then applying them to a different rhythm and tempo. But, whilst Eighties provides the basis for the riff, the sound, feel and hypnotic repetition is all Joy Division-era Hook: leering, menacing, post-punk splendour.
And, after all, who do you think Killing Joke was inspired by in the first place?
3. Plainsong (5:18) — The Cure
In 1989, Robert Smith was approaching the age of thirty without — to his mind — a truly classic record under his belt. The anxiety around his ageing and quality of output led to the career-defining double LP Disintegration — one of the most staggering explorations of loneliness, anxiety and ageing to ever be cut onto vinyl.
The record starts with Smith seemingly tapping into his youthful love of Joy Division — perhaps a musical lust for an inspired youth quickly escaping him. Akin to Joy Division’s Atmosphere, Plainsong strolls forward as if part of a funeral procession — with cathartic string sections, tolling bells and the icy sound of falling glitter. Simon Gallup leads the song with an aching, melancholy yet euphoric bass solo, a guiding light within Smith’s soundscape of apocalyptic winter.
4. Television Screens (4:00) — Fontaines D.C.
How can you make a post-punk revival LP without some kind of Joy Division influence seeping into the musical style? Well, frankly, you can’t: Hook’s bass playing has become synonymous with the genre, an outline for generations of self-taught bassists to aspire towards. Fontaines D.C. bassist Conor Deegan III strides forward to take part in the newest post-punk revival’s wave of domineering, deliciously melodic bass lines on Television Screens.
5. Letting Go (6:34) — The Field Mice
The Field Mice’s 1989 LP Snowball is a bonafide hidden gem, with coy, innocent songs of contrasting affection and heartache. It’s a record with no pretension, no embarrassment in its simplicity and no shame in masking its influences. The album’s final song Letting Go is a loving ode to New Order: drum machines, extended instrumental sections, alluring repetition, a nervous vocal and, of course, a wistful bass line that leaves the album on a heart-breaking, lonesome note.
6. Run For Cover (3:42) — The Killers
Yes, the dust lands of Las Vegas just keep on intertwining with the rain-soaked streets of Manchester (as evidenced by frequent collaborations, live appearances and remixes).
Even in their fifth LP, Wonderful Wonderful, The Killers still take joy in evoking Peter Hook in their work. Single Run For Cover, surging with the arena-filling adrenaline and zeal that the band have time-and-time-again made a career out of, is bookended with a guitar solo from Dave Keuning that tingles with Hook-esque charisma. It even resembles the effervescent bass solo on Crystal — how’s that for full circle?
7. Aries [Feat. Peter Hook and Georgia] (4:13) — Gorillaz
Ending the list is a track so unavoidably inspired by Peter Hook that its songwriter couldn’t resist calling in the man himself to the studio. When Damon Albarn sat down to write the sugary, nostalgic 80’s throwback tune Aries for Gorillaz’ 2020 collection of monthly lockdown releases, he sat in London’s Studio 13 fumbling with a bass guitar. As he was strumming the high strings along to the track, searching for the plaintive melody to make all the pieces of the puzzle slide into place, he realised, ‘This is just a Peter Hook bass line, isn’t it?’.
And so Hook joined Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s cartoon motley crew to deliver a stunning collaboration, alongside the contemporary dance-pop percussionist-extraordinaire Georgia.
Over all this time, through loss, addiction, depression and court cases, Peter Hook continues to inspire. Bass players… you don’t have to stick to the low notes.