Former New Order bass player Peter Hook has slammed the band’s decision to reform for a handful of European benefit gigs without him.
In a statement released today, Hook was emphatic in his belief that the group will not be the same in his absence, saying it is like ‘Sooty without Sweep’.
“I first I heard about this on Monday and it has taken me completely by surprise,” the statement reads. “Everyone knows that NEW ORDER without PETER HOOK is like QUEEN without FREDDIE MERCURY, U2 without THE EDGE, SOOTY without SWEEP!”
“On a more serious note, I do not understand the decision THE OTHER THREE have taken. I wish they had approached me first. I do not agree with the methods they have used and feel it would have been courteous and professional to have spoken to me in advance of the announcements. It is very sad.”
New Order sans Peter Hook are booked to play the Brussels Ancienne Belgique on October 17th and the Paris La Bataclan a day later, both in aid of their one-time music video producer Michael Shamberg, who has been suffering with a debilitating illness since 2005.