There is no sign of an end to the war between New Order and their former bandmate Peter Hook. The latest skirmish has seen the band dismiss the bassist's accusation that his replacement has been miming to his recordings onstage, saying he does exactly what Hook used to do – use backing tapes to replicate parts that can't be played live.
"I've watched so-called 'New Order' playing in Auckland and Tom Chapman is miming along to my bass on tape," Hook told NME. "Round & Round. Have a look at it. He's got his fingers on the low and you can hear my high bass in the background. So he's miming."
Hook added: "I do think that miming to my bass is pretty much the ultimate insult … There I am, lurking in the background like a ghost."
"New Order are [not] using any of Mr Hook's bass playing in our live performance," the band explained. Round & Round has multiple bass parts, they said, but Chapman's bass lines are the only ones they use. "Tom recorded his high bass part and it's replayed as part of the backing track. When Mr Hook was part of New Order he tracked [the] parts that couldn't be played live because they coincided with other parts. We are simply doing the same with our new bass player."
"People living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," New Order explained, "or their recent fake DJing YouTube hit might need to be recalled." Many fans have accused Hook of miming his DJ sets at appearances around the world.
A member of New Order from their formation until 2007, Hook was not invited back for the group's recent reunion. "The truth is, Bernard [Sumner]'s a twat and he always has been," Hook told the Guardian last summer.
