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Wednesday 26 July 2017

Celebration


I'm off on my summer holiday today, hitting the road to Portsmouth, an overnight ferry to St. Malo and then one night in Bordeaux. From there we are heading to a campsite north of Bayonne, on the Atlantic coast of south west France. A bit over a week later we are heading north and having four nights in the Vendee near Saint-Jean-de-Monts. So it will be two weeks before there's any action here.

I bought Peter Hook's latest book Substance, which focuses on his time in New Order, for one of my holiday reads. Over the last few days curiosity has got the better of me and I'm already a hundred pages in. Which led me to looking for this clip, a fledgling New Order playing a short set (half an hour, six songs) at Granada Studios in 1981 for a programme called Celebration. According to Hooky there had been a disagreement with the TV crew. Union regulations meant that only a union member could touch the sound desk- words and opinions had been exchanged. The tension is clearly present. However this is also a fascinating document of a band crawling out of tragedy and feeling their way towards a new sound. Dreams Never End (the best song off Movement), sung by Hooky, is driving and aggressive. ICB, Chosen Time, Denial and Truth show the band still playing Joy Division riffs but with the synths and electronic drums finding their way in. Just listen to the opening of Truth, Steven's synth pads hissing, then Hooky's bass and Barney's melodica. Ceremony is played four songs in, guitars rawer and brighter than the studio version. The twenty seven minutes captured here are a treat all these years later but no one there at the time, audience included, seems to be having very much fun.

No doubt once I get back, having got through all 700 plus pages in Substance, there will be further New Order posts to come. See you all in a fortnight.

16 comments:

Luca said...

Happy holidays, SA.

Charity Chic said...

Have a good one

drew said...

Have a great time The Bagging Area family., I wish I was still in France.

I read something recently where Joy Division were described as Goth, I had a bit of a rant above it that but I'm not sure thatt L was listening.

The Swede said...

Have a splendid trip SA. Hooky's book should keep you busy for a bit.

C said...

Bonnes vacances!

Swiss Adam said...

Thanks everyone- about to get away having spent the morning packing the car.

Drew- anyone who thinks JD were goth is clearly wrong. And I'm sure L was listening.

Walter said...

Enjoy your summer holidays in France with your Family. Seems you made the right coice with the book.

JTFL said...

Have fun, SA. Hook's book about Joy Division was surprisingly good, so hopefully the follow up will be as well. And if not, you're on holiday in the south of France!

Anonymous said...

have a great time

Anonymous said...

thanks i've never seen this footage. reminds me of seeing them. the first chance we had in the south east at Jenkinson's bar , Brighton. it had a similar eerie feeling of paralysis. the sense that the band, and all of us were just waiting and wanting for Ian Curtis to take the stage at any time, oh dear. it was the realisation that Joy Division really were finished. i didn't follow New Order on their journey after this, but i was glad that they found a way out.

Anonymous said...

Great comment anonymous. Thanks for popping in. JD in Brighton seems am off combination somehow
Swiss Adam

Anonymous said...

Odd not off.

Dirk said...

all the best mate, and sunny weather to you!

Anonymous said...

sorry Swiss my meaning was New Order at Jenkinson's. JD led us there. the dream was Curtis coming on stage. that's what was meant.
nice blogg. liked your balearic pieces.

Anonymous said...

Yes, of course. Got you now.
Swiss Adam

Brian said...

All the best to you and your family. School's out, school's out...!