Picture by James Chadderton/Peter Hook
It’s fairly indescribable the impact that Joy Division have had on my life, but it’s fair to say it’s been nothing short of life-changing; one of those artists that literally do change your life, and personally it’s only happened with four others (Oasis, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Arcade Fire…gotta get the hipster points in with that one, but no, seriously, they did). Of course it’s been said countless times before, but on the off-chance that there’s someone reading this who’s never heard of Joy Division, all you need to know is that they’re one of the most influential and important bands in the history of music, and I don’t say that lightly. Do yourself a favour and find a stream of “Unknown Pleasures”, go watch the movie Control, and come back and thank me (you’re welcome).
“Pictures In My Mind” was an unfinished Joy Division track that had been uncovered on a rehearsal tape that was stolen in 1977, and now it’s been finished and mastered with bassist Peter Hook taking the lead on the vocals. It’s being released as part of an EP by Hook’s new band The Light and will feature said unreleased track along with three classic Joy Division tunes, “Atmosphere”, “Insight”, and “New Dawn Fades”, all sung by guest-vocalist Rowetta.
The new song sounds nothing like what you’d expect a Joy Division song from 1977/78 to sound in terms of production, mainly because Hook’s reworked it so it’s got that crisp, more-polished sound, and it’s also got Hook on vocals, but imagine Ian Curtis singing and you can see it fitting in between “An Ideal For A Living” and “Unknown Pleasures”. I would’ve loved to have heard this with Ian on vocals (he did mention that he’ll put the original up on the Factory website so people can buy it with proceeds going to charity), but the song is actually really good.
The EP “1102 / 2011″ is released on May 9th via Hook’s own digital label Hacienda Records and this morning they played two of the songs on BBC Radio 6, and on Monday May 2nd they’re releasing videos for “Pictures In My Mind” and “Atmosphere”. If you missed the radio show you can hear a shite radio rip below, but make sure to buy the EP when it comes out in a couple of weeks.
Connect with Peter Hook & The Light – Facebook
