Peter Hook opens up about Joy Division and New Order’s absence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Peter Hook has spoken about why he thinks Joy Division and New Order are still waiting to be recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The 69-year-old bassist played with Joy Division until the death of frontman Ian Curtis in 1980. After that, the remaining members went on to form New Order.

Peter left the group in 2007, which led to years of disagreements, court cases, and public disputes. Since then, his band Peter Hook and The Light has toured around the world, performing songs from both Joy Division and New Order.

In a recent conversation with NME, Peter explained: “So that you know, I’ve done a talk at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was perfect and they’re lovely people. A very good friend of mine has a display there of all New Order memorabilia. We’re actually actively in The Hall of Fame, shall we say. It’s voted for by the music-loving people of whoever ties into this. The problem, shall we say, is the relationship between the two halves.”

He went on: “You’re in a weird situation here, because the camps don’t have any communication and actively don’t like each other. When it comes to working on these things, you have to let your fans know that they can vote for you. That’s how it’s done; it’s not given to you. You have to be nominated and voted for. If you check our campaign last time and compare it to the campaign this time, you can see there’s been, shall we say, a lack of enthusiasm on one side for the whole thing.”

When asked whether he would join New Order at the Rock Hall ceremony if they were inducted in the future, Peter responded: “Well, they offered to put a boxing ring in for us. I’m looking forward to it, to be honest.”

New Order’s split with Peter in 2007 sparked years of bitter disputes over royalties, the rights to the band name, and touring profits.

Peter said he was left out of key decisions while the rest of the group carried on without him. The disagreements eventually went to the High Court, before both sides reached a confidential settlement in 2017.