Photo Credit: Evie Smith
Having tested the waters with a short run of live performances back in April this year, PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT brought New Order’s ‘Get Ready’ album to the stage once again, this time on a more extensive UK tour which saw the former bassist of the band perform the record in its entirety, plus a series of New Order and its predecessor Joy Division to a sold out and picturesque Holmfirth Picturedrome.
With such an extensive set list to treat the capacity West Yorkshire crowd with, Hooky took matters into his own hands with two sets, so there was no space for a support act for this tour, which was certainly a welcomed decision meaning there was more stage time for the iconic bassist. As the band emerged from the wings, the capacity Holmfirth crowd roared in excitement, ready for a trip down memory lane for New Order’s 2001 masterpiece. Hooky taking centre stage, eyes glued to the floor, ready to unleash ‘Get Ready‘. Opening with ‘Crystal‘, the lengthy track was enough to get the crowd warmed up just in time for ‘60 Miles an Hour‘. The atmosphere in the venue was electric, and despite little to no interaction with the crowd throughout, this allowed Hooky and co. to focus on perfecting the songs on stage. ‘Someone Like You’ went down an absolute storm, and the delivery of ‘Run Wild’ was exquisite. Rounding off the ‘Get Ready‘ portion with out takes ‘Brutal‘ and ‘Here To Stay‘, Hooky and the Light exited the stage for a brief interval before returning for a strong second half.
Opening with a ray of Joy Division hits, it was ‘Atmosphere‘ to get the ball rolling again. The energy for a Thursday evening was at an all time high at this point, a refreshed crowd after a fifteen minute breather allowed the Holmfirth lot to unleash all that built up energy for some classics now. Continuing with more fan favourites, ‘Dead Souls’, ‘Shadowplay’ and ‘Digital’ all featured, but it was the iconic intro of ‘Transmission‘ that received the biggest cheer of the night (for now). The standing section of the venue was bouncing, and with a handful of New Order tracks featuring in the latter stages, ‘Ceremony‘ and ‘Regret‘ were welcomed additions before concluding with ‘Temptation‘ to round off the New Order material once and for all.
As the clock was edging to 11pm, Hooky had time for one last hit. It was of course the legendary ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart‘. Every beat was felt in peoples chests, Hooky’s vocals were flushed out by the sold out crowd’s joint effort, proving this timeless song remains one of the UK’s most loved tracks forty five years on.
Taped Magazine 