Peter Hook on why his job is the “kiss of death”

Posted On October 14, 2024October 14, 2024

Multitasking on stage isn’t the easiest job at the best of times. Being required to pay attention to holding several roles at once in any position isn’t straightforward, but having to juggle two separate tasks while others watch on and critique your performance has to be even more of a gruelling prospect. There are, of course, many instances of musicians who tackle playing an instrument while singing with aplomb, but one notable icon who was never particularly keen on the idea of mixing the two was New Order bassist Peter Hook.

After the disbandment of seminal post-punk act Joy Division following the death of frontman Ian Curtis in 1980, the three remaining members of Hook, guitarist Bernard Sumner, and drummer Stephen Morris were faced with the decision of where to take their musical career, and shortly after their second and final album Closer they returned to performing as New Order. Difficulty struck in the earlier days of the band when they had to decide who would assume duties as lead vocalist in the group to fill the gap left by Curtis’ passing.

While both Sumner and Hook shared vocal duties on their 1981 debut album Movement, it was Sumner who was eventually appointed as the full-time frontman, and this is possibly down to the trouble that Hook found himself in while trying to oversee two duties at once on tracks ‘Dreams Never End’ and ‘Doubts Even Here’.

Speaking about the former track, Hook explained that he wrote the song around a bass riff that was initially played on a six-string bass. “It was unusual for me to play,” said the bassist in an interview with Louder. “I was a singing bass player, which I always think is the kiss of death.” This brutal indictment of the position he briefly attempted to fill was enough to steer him away from taking the role full-time, and given the vigour he often plays his instrument with it’s understandable that he had such a tough time with it.

As incredible as he may have been as a bass player, and as well as he may have sung on the track, this statement clearly emphasises how the role wasn’t right for him. Hook, however, was quick to follow up with a sense of admiration for those who are able to pull off the feat of playing and singing simultaneously – all while being self-deprecating about his own abilities.

“It’s amazing how vulnerable and naked you feel singing,” continued Hook. “I realise now why people play and sing, because it’s so much better. Even now, if I break a string and I lose the guitar, I really feel like my pants have fallen down.”

It can be challenging to match a rhythm-based instrument and its feel to a vocal line, though he wouldn’t have been alone in terms of being in the company of other stellar singing bassists. It’s also not as though Hook completely abandoned the idea of singing and playing for the rest of his career either – he’s since gone on to front his own band, Peter Hook and The Light, where he continues to wield his famously low-hanging four-string while assuming the role of vocalist in the group.

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