New Order have reached an undisclosed settlement with their former bassist Peter Hook, bringing an end to the long legal feud – if perhaps not the antipathy – between the two parties.
A statement by the band about the “full and final” settlement reads:
The disputes were based upon Hook’s use of various New Order and Joy Division assets on merchandising and in the promotion of shows by his new band, and the amount of money he receives from the use of the name New Order by his former colleagues since 2011. The Joy Division and New Order names mean a great deal to so many of the fans, and the band felt it important to protect the legacy. With these issues now dealt with, Bernard (Sumner), Stephen (Morris) and Gillian (Gilbert) can continue to do what they do best, make music and perform live.
New Order formed in 1980 after the suicide of Ian Curtis, the frontman in their previous band Joy Division. Driven often by Hook’s melodic basslines, they became hugely popular for blending guitar rock with the nascent club culture of the 1980s, scoring hits with Blue Monday, True Faith and Regret. After a hiatus in the 1990s, they reformed for 2001 album Get Ready, before Hook left the band in 2007.
The initial catalyst for the falling out is still somewhat unclear, but the band variously expressed annoyance with Hook playing Joy Division songs with his new band the Light, for trademarking the name of the Haçienda nightclub, and for focusing on a DJ career. “We’re a bunch of fat old men arguing,” Hook told the Guardian in 2011. “It’s pathetic really, but we’re all happy to keep on doing it.”
He then sued the band in 2015, claiming that he was losing millions of pounds in royalties after a restructuring of the band’s finances following his departure, a case which the new settlement addresses.
