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About The Book

‘This book will delight both New Order-ites and general rock readers’ Mojo

A ROLLICKING, NO-HOLDS-BARRED ACCOUNT OF NEW ORDER'S ENTIRE HISTORY.

Two acclaimed albums and an upcoming US tour – Joy Division had the world at their feet. Then, on the eve of that tour, the band’s troubled lead singer, Ian Curtis, killed himself. The next time they got together, they were a new band.

That band was New Order – their label was Factory Records, their club The Haçienda. Their distinctive sound paved the way for the dance music explosion that followed, earning them the reputation as one of the most influential bands of their generation, and changing the course of popular music.

Following on from his bestselling titles The Haçienda and Unknown Pleasures, Peter Hook has written a rollicking, no-holds-barred account of the band's entire history. Substance is packed with never-before-seen detail, discographies and technical information. This is possibly the most entertaining memoir ever written by a British musician.


There are stories here that make Ozzy Osbourne looks like Mother TeresaSunday Express

A rollicking readRecord Collector

‘Rock writing rarely tells us properly what a band treading water or in slow decline feels like from the inside. Hook does so memorablyGuardian

As mammoth and downright idiotic as the band deserves … something hilariously daft happens on nearly all of Substance’s 750 pagesClassic Pop

About The Author

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Peter Hook was born in 1956 in Salford.  He was a founding member of Joy Division and New Order and DJs internationally as well as touring Joy Division’s music with his new band The Light.  He lives in Cheshire

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (June 29, 2017)
  • Length: 768 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471132421

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Raves and Reviews

Rock writing rarely tells us properly what a band treading water or in slow decline feels like from the inside. Hook does so memorably.’

– Guardian

‘The 768 pages will delight both New Order-ites and general rock readers, revealing the astonishing human bathos behind this group's godly future-rock […] The way Joy Division and New Order combined high art with base behaviour is well established but this book rides that tandem to new dimensions […] there's much more than carnage

– Mojo

‘Set against a lurid backdrop of orgiastic tours, awash with drink, drugs, and a debauched retinue of dealers, hookers and mad roadies, Hook drawing from a seemingly bottomless well of outrageous anecdotes, many of them hilarious and told with the same droll voice that delighted readers of The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club

– Uncut

‘Epic rock tale of sex, drugs and jealousy … A must for fans, it's wildly funny and revelatory'

– The Sun

A rollicking read

– Record Collector

‘You don’t have to be an ardent fan of Manchester music to enjoy this doorstopper … engrossing

– Cheshire Life

Substance chronicling the original four-piece’s history is as mammoth and downright idiotic as the band deserves … something hilariously daft happens on nearly all of Substance’s 750 pages’

– Classic Pop

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