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Manchester Evening News

Entertainment

Dianne Bourne

Review: Peter Hook and The Light celebrate Joy Division at Manchester Apollo

Peter Hook Joy Division Light Hooky Apollo (Facility) Manchester Ian Curtis Paul Ryder Happy Mondays New Order

If there's a finer sound than 3,000 northerners lustily singing Love Will Tear Us Apart on a Friday night in Manchester, then I've yet to hear it. It's the natural finale as Peter Hook and The Light conclude their latest gig celebrating the music of Joy Division and New Order with the added frisson of a passionate home crowd.

Being back at the Manchester Apollo, of course, makes this a particularly special gig - for the fans, and for bass icon Hooky himself, some 43 years since Joy Division played this very venue, back then with the iconic Ian Curtis as frontman.

It feels like we're all just let a little closer to the myth and magic of one of Manchester's most seminal bands. As Hook tells the audience: "When Joy Division first played here in 1979 we were terrified."

He continues: "Ian said, 'I tell you what we do, we’ll play Dead Souls and suss the audience out'. So I’m going to play Dead Souls, and hopefully Ian will suss you all out," he says pointing to the heavens.

Peter Hook and The Light on stage (Dominic Simpson voodoo imaging)

Hooky channels the dark, gravelly husk akin to Curtis' vocals as he delves into the Joy Division back catalogue. This gig, rescheduled from January, was always going to be something of an epic - billed as a celebration of Joy Division's albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer in their entirety, with a set of New Order songs (and extras) thrown in for good measure.

It becomes a three hour thriller for fans, combined with the added bonus of special guests Mike Sweeney and the Salford Jets opening up the night. Hooky himself introduces them to stage, as the "first band he ever saw" and acknowledging fellow Salfordian Sweeney's impact on his own story.

"I didn't realise what a big part he'd end up playing in my life, so I'm delighted that he's here," he says. "Let's rock 'n' roll," Sweeney replies before rolling back the years with a bouncing set kicked off with Little Girl It's You.

Mike Sweeney and The Salford Jets started the night (Dominic Simpson voodoo imaging)

When Hook first comes out onto stage with The Light, there's a raw energy and power placing the bassline at centre stage for the instrumental Elegia. As Hook laps up the applause he booms with a little swagger: "I know what I’m doing… " Before the swift addition of: "If you f***ing believe that you’ll believe anything.”

There's the mournful groan of Regret, with the dual bass of both Hook and his son Jack giving a particularly special layer of sound on stage. With his Monaco partner David Potts alongside as fellow vocalist and guitarist with The Light, there's a bouncing rendition of their 1997 hit What Do You Want From Me?

There is no to be no Blue Monday at this gig, but we do get True Faith to conclude the first part of proceedings, Hook introing it with a wry "I feel so extraordinary." The band's brief departure from stage allows for a wonderful interlude showcasing Mike Garry's ode to Factory Records icon Anthony Wilson.

Hooky on stage (Dominic Simpson voodoo imaging)

The night is then allowed to build to its crescendo of dark celebration of the music of Joy Division. The raw punk energy of the songs continue to hold their dreamlike power, the likes of Day of the Lords, She's Lost Control and Shadowplay dancing with sheer epic spark around the Apollo's walls.

Atmosphere is dedicated to Happy Mondays legend Paul Ryder who died earlier this month aged just 58, and to the “too many people we have lost," Hooky says. It's among the many spine-tingling moments of this gig.

Ceremony and then Transmission regains the ecstatic bounce of the crowd, the latter of which Hooky dedicates to his daughter Jessica. It leads on to the only possible finale of Love Will Tear Us Apart, a thousand camera phones light the Apollo to capture the moment.

Together the audience sing the anthem out so loudly that the band set down their instruments to hear it boomed back and off flies Hooky's shirt for good measure. It's clear this music remains so special to so many people, and to hear it performed live allows it to memorably, lustily, live on.