KulBritania - Peter Hook on "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

Manchester Peter Hook and the Light Joy Division peter hook ian curtis

Few bassist's are as influential or have as unmistakable a sound as Peter Hook. Today Ian Curtis' would have been 59 and Peter Hook told gigwise the story behind one of their anthems 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.

"I think 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' is a very poppy, very 'commercial' I suppose you'd say riff - it's very memorable," and added "The thing is that allied to the very dark lyrics in the song, I suppose it makes it very bitter-sweet, it lasts longer than it would have done if it was just a 'normal' pop song. It's quite a frightening song lyrically. It's completely at odds with the music. I think that's very Joy Division actually - it sort of lulls you into a false sense of bonhomie and then rips your heart out."

He finally added on the song: "It was written very quickly actually. I came with the bass riff in just over an hour. It was one of the quickest songs we'd ever written whici is quite odd seeing it being so popular 30 years on."