THERE WILL BE SEVERAL MOMENTS DURING THE READING OF SUBSTANCE (JOY DIVISION AND NEW ORDER BASS-GUITARIST PETER HOOK’S THIRD BOOK, WHICH RECOUNTS HIS DECADES IN THE LATTER OF THOSE BANDS) WHEN YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF PAUSING TO CATCH BREATH, AND NEEDING TO TAKE STOCK OF WHAT YOU’VE JUST READ.

It could be the drink, it could be the drugs, it could be the sex or it could be the music… It is, by far, the best of his three books – and that’s because it deals thoroughly and carefully not only with his years in what became one of the most dysfunctional bands in the music business, but with personal issues at an uncommon level of honesty. Unsurprisingly, since publication last week there has been something of a storm. A relatively brief section detailing Hook’s personal relationship with recently deceased comedian Caroline Aherne has been picked over closely to explode into tabloid scandal, and Hook has subsequently been accused of cynically writing to cash-in on his ex-wife’s death. In truth the fifteen-or-so pages are a cringeworthy, disturbing and shocking account of hugely destructive chemistry, but it’s a human story – and there may be lessons in there for others. In Hook’s case there has been no intention to bitterly ‘speak ill of the dead’ for commercial gain (Aherne receives an RIP in the dedications) and, in any case, is he not entitled to write about their marriage on his terms? We begin this new podcast by talking about that, and we pick over the bones of a band he now, with some sadness, refers to as New Odour…

Order SUBSTANCE by Peter Hook here