Barney vs. Hooky: A Consumer's Guide
As much as I’d like to make you laugh this month, dear reader, I feel like I did my fair share for the community last month by offering some actual journalism for actual things happening in the actual city you and I live in. This month, Imma use these pages to write stuff I want to write about! Namely, twenty-year feuds between the creative antipodes of two of my all-time favorite bands: Joy Division & New Order.
Also, in my defense, I feel like there hasn’t been much journalism dedicated to this split and the differences between Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook’s respective touring acts. I’ve seen a few Reddit posts, but that’s basically one step above AI slop. I figured I could use my platform to put something concrete and “well-researched” into the algorithm meat grinder (inevitably to be spat back out as AI slop…).
I mean, fuck, if DJ Hazmatt can take up space in this magazine with his “12 Rules for Stripping” as a 46-year-old, straight, white man who has not made one dollar on the pole, I can provide a hefty breakdown of whose side to choose in this messy divorce…for those who care at least. There have to be at least three of you.
While this article is intended for an extremely niche audience, imma provide the briefest of lore dumps for folks who just read me for the “lolz,” may have heard “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and would like to see it live [deep breath]. Joy Division was a highly influential band that formed in Manchester in 1976 and consisted of Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris. They disbanded in 1980 following Curtis’s suicide and reformed as New Order, with Gillian Gilbert joining the band to round out the lineup. New Order went on to find global success, before taking a hiatus in 1993 due to burnout. They reformed five years later and released their last album with the original lineup in 2001, but Gilbert stepped down from touring to care for her children. In 2006, Hook left, citing creative differences. Gilbert rejoined, and New Order continued performing and recording without Hook. Hook formed his own band, Peter Hook and The Light, which performs Joy Division and New Order albums in full, while also playing selected hits. As of 2026, Gilbert and Morris stepped down from touring with New Order. Essentially, there are now two bands performing these songs live: one fronted by Sumner (Barney) and the other fronted by Hook (Hooky).
That took a while, but I’m proud I got it down to 170 words [pats self on back].
Before Gilbert and Morris stepped down, you could argue that New Order would be the proper way to see these songs live. It is, after all, three-fourths of the original band, plus the original guy singing. Also, (post-1998) New Order did start playing Joy Division songs live. They often close the encore with “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and the most recent performances opened with “Transmission.”
Why would anyone even bother seeing Peter Hook and the Light? I inquire because I'm often asked why I would go see “the bass player’s solo project?” By the time this piece comes out, I will have actually seen Hooky twice at Crystal Ballroom.
This is not Hooky’s third failed solo project. Anyone who’s listened to Revenge or Monaco could be forgiven for skipping this project. No offense, Hooky. The Light is basically Hooky’s way to play Joy Division and New Order songs live. And he plays a lot of them, and he plays frequently—on the cheap.
It’s pretty difficult to see New Order in anything smaller than an arena. The last time they came anywhere NEAR the Pacific Northwest was in 2022 in Seattle. I was there. Hooky tours constantly and often in venues no bigger than the Crystal Ballroom. Your average New Order setlist is about 15 songs, with one or two Joy Division songs as an encore. Hooky often plays one or two albums in full, along with several other selected hits.
So…yes, Hooky is basically a licensed tribute act. But if this band is as important to you as it is to me, that’s no small thing. Especially if you don’t want to have to go to an arena every ten years to see your favorite band. Hooky has been to Portland twice in the last two years, both times at Crystal Ballroom. These songs aren’t hard to play. Any decent musician can pull it off. But Hooky’s not the original voice. Barney’s guitar parts aren’t exactly show-stopping, but there’s something to be said for seeing him up there actually playing them.
Hooky’s got some talented cats playing with him, but it’s not the cats that started it. You are missing that living history element of it, knowing the four people you’re seeing on stage have been playing together since the ‘70s, and collectively dealt with their friend killing himself. It’s not the same.
Alternatively, although New Order (before Gilbert and Morris left) you got most of the original four and got to feel that history, Hooky was definitely missed. Phil and Tom, although full-fledged members and great players in their own right, were not there from the beginning, and also did not have that shared trauma of dealing with Ian’s death. Also, Hooky is quite the presence live. He is the fire to Barney’s ice.
Ultimately, neither will be as good as seeing all four of them together. I’d say go with Hooky since…you’ve got more opportunities to do so. The only thing on the books for New Order (which is just Barney now) are festival shows in South America.
Joy Division and New Order are getting a joint induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 14th. They are slated to perform. Who are they? Maybe by the time this comes out, this induction will bring Barney and Hooky together, get them to make up, and the Joy Division/New Order performance will actually be the original four on stage. Manifesting it right here, right now.
