joy division american tour

Joy Division cancelled US / Canada tour 1980

Little was known about the venues that Joy Division intended to play on their US tour and the following list was subject to ongoing speculation and amendments for several years. We used information from various sources including Rob Gretton's notebooks and the MDMA web site fully in the knowledge these were not the final notes, and may have reflected ideas and aspirations rather than concrete arrangements. 

Then, in 2019 Peter Hook auctioned off a huge number of Joy Division, New Order, and Factory related items including an itinerary for the tour given to him after Ian's death. We were pleased to find this final version matched quite well to our speculation.

Naturally we have used this itinerary to update this page, but we have also left some listings in which do not appear on it. This is in line with our policy of including cancelled gigs in our listings (it's just a bit more complicated here because all the gigs were cancelled) and if the venue had gone as far as to advertise a gig it was clearly a realistic prospect at some point in time.   

We know that New Order played at some of the same venues when they got out to the States in September and those events are also documented below.

Nick Blakey spent a lot of time working on this and drawing together disparate information and talking to people who were involved in the US gig circuit back in the day, It is wonderful to see this finalised with the definitive tour dates.

19th May 1980 Joy Division arrive in the US 

Source: Rob Gretton's notebooks

21st - 23rd May 1980 (3 nights): Hurrah, New York 

Source: Rob Gretton's notebooks and the final tour itinerary. This was to be officially the first venue on the tour.

Support acts:

Wed 21 The Mutants Thu 22 Crash Course in Science Fri 23 Bongos

Support act info from the "Goings On About Town" section of the New Yorker dated 26 May 1980

On one of these nights the dB's filled in for Joy Division - as this extract from their web site shows:

Merrill Aldighieri tells us her film "LOVE AMONG THE MUTANTS" was intended to be the "opening act" for Joy Division on one of the nights:. I made an underground science fiction comedy titled "LOVE AMONG THE MUTANTS". I showed up that night wearing a hand made paper machet eyeball. As I nervously sipped beer through a straw inserted in my iris I wondered why the club was still empty. Then around 11:00 2 club-goers arrived (Pat Ivers & Emily Armstrong) to tearfully tell us the horrible news about the death of Ian Curtis. The staff decided to show my movie anyway. I was in a depressed and frantic stupour with serious tunnel vision under the cyclops outfit. I wore this the whole evening, trying to hide. By the time my film played I was a basket case. The club asked me to come back and become their multi-media artist in residence, and not long afterwards New Order made their debut. I videotaped that show, as well as 100 others.

New Order finally played there 26th September 1980. According to Steve who was at that New Order concert "A Certain Ratio were on the bill that night. New Order took to the stage in complete darkness with a single purple spotlight on an empty mike stand and opened with 'In A Lonely Place'. It was chilling"

24th May 1980 Joy Division travel to Toronto

25th may 1980: the edge nightclub, toronto .

The Edge nightclub, at the corner of Church & Gerrard in Toronto was run by the two Garys: who brought Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, New Order, The Police, The Smiths, and most of the cutting edge acts from 1977 thru the 1980's. Tickets were on sale at the time, Ian died one week to the day before he would play here.

Here's what Gary Topp (one of the two Garys) told our invetigator Paul Boyd: " I can't tell you the exact date.... but they were scheduled to play on a Sunday nite, tix were on sale. they cancelled their tour due to his death a week prior ".

This puts the date firmly at 25th May, which is confirmed by the final tour itinerary, the ticket, and the advert in the Toronto Star Saturday May 18th 1980, see right..

Peter Howell writes:

"The tiny ad in the Toronto Star of Saturday, May 17, 1980 promoted the first local appearance the following weekend of a band "from England": Joy Division. The price was $5.50 a ticket, at a now-defunct venue called The Edge at Church and Gerrard Sts. where all the hot punk and New Wave acts played. The May 25 show was to start at the very uncool time of 7:30 p.m., but it was a Sunday, after all. All 250 tickets sold out, promoter Gary Topp recalled in an interview, and the band members would have been paid a total of $1,000 (US) for their labours. But hours after the Star ad appeared, the band's frontman Ian Curtis was dead. Toronto would have been the second stop on the band's first North American tour. For promoter Topp, who was working in a company called The Garys, it was the second major show in just over a year scuppered by sudden death. The Garys had also booked Sid Vicious to perform, shortly before the ex-Sex Pistols bassist was found dead from a heroin overdose. But everybody knew Vicious was on the way down, as in six feet under. Joy Division was on the way up, and already had mystique, Topp said. "Musically they were unique for the times, rooted in punk with a tortured Jim Morrison-ish style. They were a breath of fresh air, experimental, problematic. We liked that." (C) Peter Howell http://www.thestar.com/article/254562 Reporduced here with permission

26th May 1980: Bookies, Detroit

According to Rob Gretton's notes at the time there was a possibility this gig would be cancelled - in which case Joy Division would play Madison on the 28th May. This is clearly what happened as this was a day off on the final tour itinerary.

Image courtesy of The Toronto Star

27th May 1980: Tuts, W. Belmont, Chicago

The promoter, or rather one of the co-promotors, Wax Trax, was a Chicago record shop that specialised in Factory records imports. They even had a specially made Joy Division neon sign behind the counter. They had tickets printed in a variety of colours.

Thanks to Nick Blakey for his tireless research which has helped populate this page

28th May 1980: Merlyn's Madison, Wisconsin

At one stage this date was a contingency if Detroit (26th May) was cancelled. However one Merlyn's regular remembers the gig being cancelled on this forum . Merlyn's was the pre-eminent punk club of the time and was made up to look like a cave with brown stucco, stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

29th May 1980: Duffy's, Minneapolis

While the flyer notes Fine Art as the opener, Kim Moline an employee of Duffy's at the time, says that Husker Du were also scheduled to play:

"They were suppose to play at Duffy's 29 May, 1980 with Husker Du ... tour dates were cancelled due to Ian Curtis's suicide on the 18th of May. Curtis, suffered from epilepsy and depression, committed suicide on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour, resulting in the band's dissolution and the subsequent formation of New Order. Duffy's was suppose to be the 8th date on the tour."

30th - 31st May 1980: Days off including travel  

30th or 31st may 1980: the undergro und, boston.

With Mission Of Burma  New Order finally played here 30th September 1980.

Rob Gretton's notes indicate the possibility of a Joy Division gig in Boston on May 30-31, 1980 and local memories suggest that it was to be The Underground with Mission of Burma supporting, but listings taken from local paper The Boston Phoenix and no further mention in Rob's notes show that the gig was never finalised.

Incidentally: Joy Division's tour mates OMD played The Underground on June 1st 1980

Thanks to Mike Miliard of The Boston Phoenix newspaper for supplying us with information about Underground gigs at that time

31st May 1980: 9:30 Club, Washington DC

According to 'Dance Of Days: Two decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital' by Mark Andersen & Mark Jenkins (pages 59/60) Joy Division were supposed to inaugurate 9:30 Club which had previously been known as "The Atlantis". However this date had been dropped by the time the final tour itinerary was published. Instead 9:30 Club opened with New York jazz combo the Lounge Lizards, supported by Tiny Desk Unit on 31st May.

1st June 1980: Pop Front  / Machinist's Hall,  New York  (cancelled, Pop Front moved the venue to Tier 3 see below)  

According to contemporary music papers a Joy Division gig slated for the Machinist's Hall, NYC on this date was cancelled, despite being confirmed by the final tour itinerary. It appears that Non-profit NY promoters "Pop Front" had already run a month of Sunday night gigs there when an attack by vandals forced the owners to cancel all upcoming dates so the concert was moved to Tier 3.

1st June 1980: Pop Front / Tier 3 (aka TR3), New York  

This date confirmed as "Pop Front", the promoter, by the final tour itinerary and by Hilary Jaeger who booked Tier 3 (aka TR3). Peter Hook's "Unknown Pleasures ..." book page 275 features a photo of a schedule (but unlikely to be the final version) showing Pop Front, New York. New Order finally played here 27th September 1980 with A Certain Ratio.

2nd June 1980: Joy Division fly to San Francisco

3rd - 4th june 1980: days off   , 3rd and 4th june 1980: american indian centre, san francisco.

Rob Gretton's notes refer to a possible gig in San Francisco on one of these days. However these had been changed to a single gig on 7th June by the time the final itinerary was published and Joy Division were to have two days off.

Jim Manniello in SF stated he clearly remembers the gig was to have been at the American Indian Center, although he was unclear on the date.

Jello Biafra states this was to be two dates - (most likely 3rd and 4th June) with Dead Kennedys opening one show and The Mutants opening the other.

Peter Hook's "Unknown Pleasures ..." book page 275 features a photo of a schedule (but unlikely to be the final version) showing the dates as 6th and 7th June

5th June 1980: Joy Division travel to LA 

According to Rob Gretton's notes they were either to travel to LA - or play Madame Wong's on this date. As Madame Wong's is planned for the 7th June we assume this was to be a travel day.  

6th June 1980: Day off   

7th june 1980: american indian centre, san francisco .

The date had taken some firming up - see 3rd 4th June listing above and this was the final agreed date on the itinerary.

7th June 1980: Madame Wong's, Los Angeles

Rob Gretton's notebooks list this as a venue but it had been dropped by the time the final itinerary was published.

Image (C) copyright Theresa K / Punk truns30.com and reproduced here with permission

8th June 1980 Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace, Los Angeles

Peter Hook's "Unknown Pleasures ..." book page 275 features a photo of a schedule (but unlikely to be the final version) showing this unlikely venue - and it's confirmed by the final tour schedule.

09h June 1980: Day off 

9th june 1980: the starwood, northwest corner of santa monica blvd. and crescent heights ave , los angeles.

Image thanks to Steve Eastwood

Clearly a solid enough booking to advertise the gig, see right, this concert had been dropped by the time the final itinerary was published.

No tickets exist as people had to return them to get refunds B Peopl e were to open for Joy Division. Later, in 1981, they opened for New Order at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, California. For the poster for that event click here .

The Starwood closed in 1982 see Starwood for details

10th June 1980: Return to the UK 

Unknown dates:.

The following gigs also seem to have been planned for unspecified dates at some point but do not appear in Rob Gretton's notes or the final tour itinerary:

Robson Square Theatre, Vancouver

Grant McDonagh, from ZULU RECORDS tells us: "I worked at an indie record store at that time (Quintessence Records). I recall being in it's back room and me and fellow staff members discussing that we heard Joy Division were going to be coming to town soon, and were going to be playing the Robson Square Theatre. This was an approx. 200 seat venue on the bottom floor of a Provincial government set of buildings, near the centre of downtown Vancouver (the buildings are still there). I recall seeing Pere Ubu play at the Robson Square Theatre in the summer of 1979, a good gig! The theatre really wasn't a cutting-edge venue, more like a lecture hall that wasn't used for concerts too often. Joy Division would have been the only other contemporary band booked there since the Pere Ubu gig a few months earlier. The concert promoter was Perryscope Concerts, they did most of the up and coming touring gigs in Vancouver at the time. Then one day I went to work, and a co-worker told me he heard that Joy Division's singer had committed suicide a day or two earlier. We talked about it of course, and I remember us talking about how their Vancouver promoter, Perryscope, had just called just a few days earlier, saying they'd be dropping tickets to sell off in a few days. But that was that."

North Park Lions Club Hall, San Diego

Joy Division was booked to play in San Diego by Renee Edgington of Shark Productions, probably at the North Park Lions Club Hall. In the movie, Control, you can see San Diego in the itinerary. Would have had to have been at the time of the LA gigs.

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Peter Hook and the Light to Play Joy Division Albums on 2022 North American Tour

By Jon Blistein

Jon Blistein

Peter Hook and the Light are set to tour North American next year, and they’ll be playing Joy Division ’s two classic albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer .  

The 26-date North American leg of the Joy Division: A Celebration tour will kick off with two shows at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on August 11th and 12th. It’ll wrap on September 14th at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver.

On top of playing Unknown Pleasures and Closer in their entirety, Hook and the Light will perform Joy Division’s early Warsaw material, tracks from their compilation Still, and the final songs the band wrote — “Ceremony” and “In a Lonely Place” — which were ultimately released by New Order . Hook and the Light will open the shows with a selection of New Order tracks.

Tickets for all shows will go on sale this Friday, October 22nd, at 10 a.m. local time. Local promoter and venue presales will run October 20th at 10 a.m. local time through October 21st at 10 p.m. local time. Complete information is available on Peter Hook and the Light’s website .  

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Hook had planned to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Closer with a tour last year before the pandemic hit. While those plans were delayed, he did open up to Rolling Stone about his complicated relationship with the album, which was released two months after frontman Ian Curtis’ death by suicide.  

“ Closer — because of what happened — has always felt a little detached,” he said. “I never played those songs [live] as Joy Division. And it actually felt after a couple of years like the LP was by somebody else. I was only able to listen to the record as a record years later. It was really, really strange, but Closer became one of my favorite records.”

Peter Hook and the Light “Joy Division: A Celebration” 2022 Tour Dates

August 11 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall August 12 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall August 13 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda August 15 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall August 16 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern August 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue August 19 – Chicago, IL @ Metro August 20 – Chicago, IL @ Metro August 22 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Pabst Theatre August 23 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club August 25 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring August 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer August 27 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 August 29 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren August 30 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk August 31 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk September 2 – Houston, TX @ House Of Blues September 3 – Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues September 5 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre September 6 – San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay September 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre At Ace Hotel September 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre At Ace Hotel September 10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield September 12 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom September 13 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox September 14 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Commodore Ballroom

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Peter Hook and the Light Announce ‘Joy Division: A Celebration’ Tour

Peter Hook & The Light concerts will take to the road across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022 for the tour “Joy Division: A Celebration," honoring the iconic British rock and…

By Dave Brooks

Dave Brooks

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Peter Hook & The Light concerts will take to the road across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022 for the tour “Joy Division: A Celebration,” honoring the iconic British rock and new wave band. Hook was the bassist and co-founder of the band led by vocalist Ian Curtis and later New Order which formed after Curtis took his own life in 1980.

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Joy Division

At 26 dates in total, “Joy Division: A Celebration” is Peter Hook & The Light’s largest ever tour, performing Joy Division ’s two seminal albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer in full with additional Joy Division rarities and an opening set of New Order material. The tour follows the debut UK dates for “Joy Division: A Celebration” which commemorate the 40th anniversary of Joy Division and Ian Curtis’ continuing influence.

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“The albums are played sequentially in track order, respecting the inspiration and impact of the stunning debut album Unknown Pleasures and the immaculately produced second Closer,” a release announcing the tour explains. “In addition to the albums, the concerts span the entirety of Joy Division’s rich but short career including early Warsaw material, tracks from the compilation LP Still to the final songs “Ceremony” and “In a Lonely Place” written by Joy Division which were to form New Order’s first single.

Tickets go on-sale this Friday, Oct. 22. For details and ticket links go to Hook’s site . Dates for the tour:

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August 11 @ The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto August 12 @ The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto August 13 @ Club Soda in Montreal August 15 @ Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak, MI August 16 @ The Eastern in Atlanta August 18 @ First Avenue in Minneapolis August 19 & 20 @ Metro in Chicago August 22 @ The Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee August 23 @ Paradise Rock Club in Boston August 25 @ The Fillmore Silver Spring August 26 @ Union Transfer in Philadelphia August 27 @ Terminal 5 in New York August 29 @ The Van Buren in Phoenix August 30 & 31 @ Mohawk, Austin September 2 @ House Of Blues Houston September 3 @ House Of Blues Dallas September 5 @ Ogden Theatre, Denver September 6 @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, San Diego September 8  & 9 @ The Theatre At Ace Hotel, Los Angeles September 10 @ The Warfield, San Francisco September 12 @ Crystal Ballroom, Portland September 13 @ The Showbox, Seattle September 14 @ Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver

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• October 19, 2021

Peter Hook & The Light Announce 26 Date “Joy Division: A Celebration” North American Tour

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A massive cross country North American tour has been announced for Peter Hook & The Light’s “Joy Division : A Celebration” concerts which sees the group take to the road across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022, for their biggest and most extensive tour to date in the territory.

At some twenty six dates overall, the tour takes place across five weeks as the band return to some venues and debut at others to perform Joy Division’s seminal two albums “Unknown Pleasures” and “Closer” in full with additional Joy Division rarities and an opening set of New Order material.

The tour follows the debut UK dates for “Joy Division : A Celebration” which commemorate the 40th anniversary of Joy Division and Ian Curtis’ continuing influence.

Aside from some one off incidental dates such as The Roxy in LA, the “Joy Division : A Celebration” run of dates is the first time the band have toured both iconic albums in the same show in North America and the concerts are bound to be hugely special for the many devoted fans of the band.

With double concerts at the same venue announced for the opening nights in Toronto and then in Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles the tour also takes in Montreal, Royal Oak, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Boston, Silver Spring, Philadelphia, New York, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

These Joy Division album shows have become much less common for The Light as they moved through their progression of touring the New Order albums in succession in the almost twelve years since Hooky began his odyssey through both his bands’ back catalogues.

That journey has seen them now perform his bands’ albums all round the world including numerous tours of North and South America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the Far East.

August 2022

Thursday 11 th  August 2022        The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto

Friday 12 th  August 2022             The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto

Saturday 13 th  August 2022         Club Soda, Montreal

Monday 15 th  August 2022          Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak

Tuesday 16 th  August 2022          The Eastern. Atlanta

Thursday 18 th  August 2022        First Avenue, Minneapolis

Friday 19 th  August 2022             Metro, Chicago

Saturday 20 th  August 2022         Metro, Chicago

Monday 22 nd  August 2022          The Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee

Tuesday 23 rd  August 2022          Paradise Rock Club, Boston

Thursday 25 th  August 2022        The Filimore, Silver Spring

Friday 26 th  August 2022             Union Transfer, Philadelphia

Saturday 27 th  August 2022         Terminal 5, New York

Monday 29 th  August 2022          The Van Buren, Phoenix

Tuesday 30 th  August 2022          Mohawk, Austin

Wednesday 31st August 2022     Mohawk, Austin

September 2022

Friday 2 nd  September 2022         House Of Blues, Austin

Saturday 3 rd  September 2022     House Of Blues, Dallas

Monday 5 th  September 2022       Ogden Theatre, Denver

Tuesday 6 th  September 2022      Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, San Diego

Thursday 8 th  September 2022    The Theatre At Ace Hotel, Los Angeles

Friday 9 th  September 2022         The Theatre At Ace Hotel, Los Angeles

Saturday 10 th  September 2022   The Warfield, San Francisco

Monday 12 th  September 2022     Crystal Ballroom, Portland

Tuesday 13 th  September 2022     The Showbox, Seattle

Wednesday 14 th  September 2022 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver

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Peter Hook & The Light Announce ‘Joy Division: A Celebration’ North America Tour

Peter Hook & The Light embark on a cross-continental journey that takes them across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022 for their biggest and most extensive trek to date, “Joy Division: A Celebration.” The North American tour launches August 11 th in Toronto . 

Since announcing the tour last summer both Chicago shows at Metro are sold-out and joining as special guests will be  El Ten Eleven  in Chicago (both shows), Boston, Silver Springs, MD, Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.   

“So yeah, from that point of view, it’s actually nice to bring the two albums together [live]: you can see the contrast quite vividly when we play them. I do get some very almost teary moments. It has been quite interesting because Closer really does have a big effect on people, from an emotional point of view. Unknown Pleasures is very aggressive, it’s very punky, so live, it really rocks. Whereas Closer is almost the exact opposite: it’s very melancholic. It draws you in, and I must admit not only does it get a very emotional response from us while playing it, but you get an emotional response from the audience.”   – Peter Hook, in an interview with  Big Takeover  

Around twenty-six dates overall, the tour takes place across five weeks. The band returns to some venues and debuts at others to perform Joy Division’s seminal two albums  Unknown Pleasures  and  Closer  in full.  

Additionally, the tour will feature Joy Division rarities and an opening set of New Order material. The tour follows the debut UK dates for “Joy Division: A Celebration” which commemorates the 40th anniversary of Joy Division and Ian Curtis’ continuing influence. 

“’Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is a masterpiece that has stood the test of decades, and is the perfect ending to a superb event…”  – Yorkshire Post

Returning for his ninth tour of the States with Peter Hook & The Light, Hooky comments: “Definitely one of the highlights/lowlights of my profession is the travelling. It was amazing what a blessing it was not to have to do it over lockdown but amazing again how soon you missed seeing all these wonderful places the world has to offer. You lot in America are so lucky to have such a varied and wonderful country. I can’t wait to get back there, and my mouth is watering at the thought of going to my first ‘Coffee Shop’ breakfast. I am easily pleased.”

The first few dates were originally scheduled for May 2020, but due to the pandemic have only just taken place in the UK and across France to great reviews and reactions from fans and critics alike to The Light’s dedication to and passion for the catalogue across what is a near three-hour show. 

About the reaction on returning to live concerts, Hooky added; “The gigs so far have all been wonderful and the fans and the band have been wonderful too! It does nothing for my imposter syndrome; I am very grateful that we have all risen back to this after what we have been through these past few years. Thank you all. We have a lot to be thankful for. Ian Curtis R.I.P.” 

Because of the Ian Curtis death, Joy Division had to cancel their US Tour. Thus, also resulting in the death of Joy Division itself. But, later on as a new trio, create with Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris played as New Order and stopped through New York in 1981.  

Peter Hook & The Light’s ‘Joy Division: A Celebration’ Tour Dates:

August 11 – The Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ONT

August 12 – The Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ONT

August 13 – Club Soda – Montreal, QC

August 15 – Royal Oak Music Theatre – Royal Oak, MI

August 16 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA

August 18 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN

August 19 – Metro – Chicago *SOLD OUT

August 20 – Metro – Chicago *SOLD OUT

August 22 – The Pabst Theatre – Milwaukee, WI

August 23 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA

August 25 – The Fillmore Silver Spring – Silver Spring, MD

August 26 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA

August 27 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY

August 29 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ

August 30 – Mohawk – Austin, TX

August 31 – Mohawk – Austin, TX

September 2 – House Of Blues Houston – Houston, TX

September 3 – House Of Blues Dallas – Dallas, TX

September 5 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO

September 6 – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay – San Diego, CA

September 8 – The Theatre At Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA

September 9 – The Theatre At Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA

September 10 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA

September 12 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR

September 13 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA

September 14 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC

For more details and to purchase tickets, click the link here . 

My name is Haylee Farrell and I'm a graduate from SUNY New Paltz. Throughout growing up, music always had an influence on my life. I love all music, especially indie, alternative, and edm!

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Peter Hook & The Light Announce 2022 Joy Division Tour

• Last updated: 20 Oct 2021, 18:51:11
• Published: 20 Oct 2021, 18:51:11
• Written by: Bree Wilde
• Photography by: Carla Speight, Getty Images
• Categories: Tour Dates Tagged: Peter Hook & the Light Joy Division

Peter Hook & the Light have announced North American tour dates for next fall. The band will open with New Order tracks and then perform both of Joy Division's albums-- Unknown Pleasures and Closer --in full. They also promised to mix in some rarities, singles and B-sides.

The North American dates kick off in Toronto on August 11 and run through September 14 in Vancouver. Tickets for this trek are on sale today.

For a complete list of tour dates, including the UK run that will precede this tour, check their official site .

Peter Hook & The Light 2022 Tour Dates:

08/11 — Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall

08/12 — Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall

08/13 — Montreal, QC @ Club Soda

08/15 — Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre

08/16 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern

08/18 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue

08/19 — Chicago, IL @ Metro

08/20 — Chicago, IL @ Metro

08/22 — Milwaukee, WI @ The Pabst Theatre

08/23 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

08/25 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring

08/26 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

08/27 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5

08/29 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren

08/30 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk

08/31 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk

09/02 — Houston, TX @ House Of Blues Houston

09/03 — Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues Dallas

09/05 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

09/06 — San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay

09/08 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre At Ace Hotel

09/09 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre At Ace Hotel

09/10 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield

09/12 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

09/13 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

09/14 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom

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Peter Hook & The Light Announce 26 Date "Joy Division : A Celebration" North American Tour

Article contributed by l. paul mann | published on thursday, august 11, 2022.

A massive cross country North American tour has been announced for Peter Hook & The Light ’s “Joy Division : A Celebration” concerts which sees the group take to the road across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022, for their biggest and most extensive tour to date in the territory.

At some twenty six dates overall, the tour takes place across five weeks as the band return to some venues and debut at others to perform Joy Division’s seminal two albums “Unknown Pleasures” and “Closer” in full with additional Joy Division rarities and an opening set of New Order material.

The tour follows the debut UK dates for “Joy Division : A Celebration” which commemorate the 40th anniversary of Joy Division and Ian Curtis’ continuing influence.

Aside from some one off incidental dates such as The Roxy in LA, the “Joy Division : A Celebration” run of dates is the first time the band have toured both iconic albums in the same show in North America and the concerts are bound to be hugely special for the many devoted fans of the band.

With double concerts at the same venue announced for the opening nights in Toronto and then in Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles the tour also takes in Montreal, Royal Oak, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Boston, Silver Spring, Philadelphia, New York, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

These Joy Division album shows have become much less common for The Light as they moved through their progression of touring the New Order albums in succession in the almost twelve years since Hooky began his odyssey through both his bands’ back catalogues.

That journey has seen them now perform his bands’ albums all round the world including numerous tours of North and South America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the Far East.

The influence of Joy Division and their music remains strong in popular culture, holding a sincere reverence.  The albums are played sequentially in track order, respecting the inspiration and impact of the stunning debut album “Unknown Pleasures” and the immaculately produced second “Closer”.

“Unknown Pleasures” features “Disorder”, “Insight”, “New Dawn Fades”, and “She’s Lost Control” while “Closer”, considered “a start to finish masterpiece” by Pitchfork Media counts “Atrocity Exhibition”, “Heart And Soul” and “Twenty Four Hours” amongst its many highlights.

In addition to the albums, the concerts span the entirety of Joy Division’s rich but short career including early Warsaw material, tracks from the compilation LP “Still” to the final songs “Ceremony” and “In a Lonely Place” written by Joy Division which were to form New Order’s first single.

On “Unknown Pleasures” – The Album (NME)

“The band’s debut ‘Unknown Pleasures’ is simply one of the best records ever made, and is still powerful enough to floor you 30 years on. With an almost dub-like, spacey atmosphere sculpted by studio genius Martin Hannett, the band’s sound was almost the polar opposite of the punk music which had brought them together after a Sex Pistols show in 1976.” 10/10

On “Closer” – The Album (Pitchfork Media)

"Closer is even more austere, more claustrophobic, more inventive, more beautiful, and more haunting than its predecessor. It's also Joy Division's start-to-finish masterpiece, a flawless encapsulation of everything the group sought to achieve" 10 / 10.

 August 2022

Thursday 11th August 2022        The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto

Friday 12th August 2022             The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto

Saturday 13th August 2022         Club Soda, Montreal

Monday 15th August 2022          Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak

Tuesday 16th August 2022          The Eastern. Atlanta

Thursday 18th August 2022        First Avenue, Minneapolis

Friday 19th August 2022             Metro, Chicago

Saturday 20th August 2022         Metro, Chicago

Monday 22nd August 2022          The Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee

Tuesday 23rd August 2022          Paradise Rock Club, Boston

Thursday 25th August 2022        The Filimore, Silver Spring

Friday 26th August 2022             Union Transfer, Philadelphia

Saturday 27th August 2022         Terminal 5, New York

Monday 29th August 2022          The Van Buren, Phoenix

Tuesday 30th August 2022          Mohawk, Austin

Wednesday 31st August 2022     Mohawk, Austin

September 2022

Friday 2nd September 2022         House Of Blues, Austin

Saturday 3rd September 2022     House Of Blues, Dallas

Monday 5th September 2022       Ogden Theatre, Denver

Tuesday 6th September 2022      Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, San Diego

Thursday 8th September 2022    The Theatre At Ace Hotel, Los Angeles

Friday 9th September 2022         The Theatre At Ace Hotel, Los Angeles

Saturday 10th September 2022   The Warfield, San Francisco

Monday 12th September 2022     Crystal Ballroom, Portland

Tuesday 13th September 2022     The Showbox, Seattle

Wednesday 14th September 2022 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver

• Peter Hook & The Light

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Peter Hook to Play Joy Division on North American Tour

The 2022 outing will make stops in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver

BY Kaelen Bell Published Oct 19, 2021

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Peter Hook & The Light announce 2024 world tour for Joy Division and New Order ‘Substance’ celebration

The huge tour will include stretches in Australia and New Zealand, North America and the UK and Ireland

Peter Hook & The Light have announced a huge 2024 world tour that will see the band play the ‘Substance’ albums from Joy Division and New Order in full – find dates and ticket information below.

• READ MORE:  Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’: How they made the unimpeachable proto-goth masterpiece

The New Order and Joy Division co-founder will be touring with his band from May next year, spanning New Zealand, Australia, North America, the UK and Ireland.

The tour will open at the Opera House in Wellington, New Zealand on May 16, followed by eight more dates across New Zealand and Australia. From August 31, they’ll continue with a North American run that starts at History in Toronto, Canada. Stops throughout September include Boston, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and more.

They’ll conclude with one final stretch across the UK and Ireland that starts in York’s Barbican Hall on October 10, followed by cities including Glasgow, Nottingham, Oxford, Birmingham, Belfast, Dublin and more.

General sale tickets will be available to purchase on Friday (November 17) from 10am local time. Alternatively, fans can access venue pre-sale tickets on Wednesday (November 15) from 10am local time. UK and Ireland tickets can be purchased here , US tickets here and Australia and New Zealand tickets here .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Peter Hook & The Light (@peterhook_thelight)

“It still amazes me how enjoyable it is to play the ‘Substance’ LPs,” Hook said in a press statement. “The contrast between Joy Division and New Order is very apparent but both complement each other very well. My only frustration is not being able to play more of our records each night. I am totally looking forward to the next phase. So, let’s enjoy some Substance and get ready for the future. Lots of love, Hooky.”

Recommended

The newly announced run of dates follows the band’s performance of the ‘Substance’ albums at their biggest ever London concert in October this year at the Eventim Apollo.

Joy Division’s compilation album ‘Substance’ came out in 1988, and was followed by the 1987 New Order companion of the same name.

Hook first revisited Joy Division’s seminal album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ in May 2010 for a commemorative charity concert, and has followed it each year by performing subsequent albums from his bands Joy Division and New Order. It’s now culminated in the ‘Substance’ compilations.

Peter Hook & The Light’s 2024 ‘Substance’ tour dates are:

MAY Thu 16 – WELLINGTON Opera House Sat 18 – AUCKLAND Great Hall Sun 19 – CHRISTCHURCH Isaac Theatre Tue 21 – ADELAIDE Hindley St Music Hall Wed 22 – BRISBANE Tivoli Fri 24 – SYDNEY Enmore Theatre Sat 25 – MELBOURNE Forum Theatre Sun 25 – MELBOURNE Forum Theatre Tue 28 – PERTH Astor Theatre

AUGUST Sat 31 – TORONTO History

SEPTEMBER Sun 01 – WASHINGTON 9:30 Club Tue 03 – BOSTON Paradise Rock Club Wed 04 – PHILADELPHIA Union Transfer Fri 06 – NEW YORK Brooklyn Steel Sat 07 – CHICAGO Riviera Theatre Tue 10 – DETROIT Royal Oak Music Theatre Wed 11 – AUSTIN The Far Out Lounge and Stage Fri 13 – HOUSTON House Of Blues Sat 14 – DALLAS House Of Blues Mon 16 – SAN DIEGO Humphreys Concerts By The Bay Tue 17 – PHOENIX The Van Buren Fri 20 – LOS ANGELES Hollywood Palladium Sat 21 – SAN FRANCISCO The Warfield Mon 23 – VANCOUVER Commodore Ballroom Wed 25 – SEATTLE The Showbox Thu 26 – PORTLAND McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Sat 28 – DENVER Ogden Theatre

OCTOBER Thu 10 – YORK Barbican Hall Fri 11 – GLASGOW O2 Academy Sat 12 – SUNDERLAND Fire Station Thu 17 – WARRINGTON Parr Hall Fri 18 – NOTTINGHAM Rock City Sat 19 – OXFORD O2 Academy Thu 24 – MARGATE Dreamland Fri 25 – BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute Sat 26 – NORWICH UEA Thu 31 – BLACKBURN King George’s Hall

The band’s recent London show marked the final gig of their 2023 UK tour and followed performances in Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Belfast and elsewhere. During the show, they welcomed Damon Albarn to the stage for a performance of the Gorillaz song ‘Aries’ .

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Peter Hook talks his current tour, the legacy of Joy Division, and physical media

Peter Hook is on tour RIGHT NOW in North America with his band The Light. The group is playing ALL of Joy Division 's Unknown Pleasures and Closer AND are doing a opening set of New Order hits! It's kind of a big show .

Because Hooky and crew are tearing it up stateside, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to the famed bassist about the tour, Joy Division, conflict in New Order, his session with Gwen Stefani, the death of physical media, and more! You can check it out below.

One of the things that I really like about seeing you and the Light do Joy Division and New Order live is that there’s a little bit more grit in the songs than the studio counterparts. They are kind of punkier versions. Yeah, I must admit that it was kind of frustration of mine that we used too much backing track and I felt like we didn’t need it. I felt like a dinosaur. “Can’t we just play it like we used to?” The strength I think in the songs was when we just played them. The moment that I love the most when we play Joy Division songs is the little moment just before we start playing and there’s nothing there, and then we start playing and it’s ALL there.

When we first started playing and recording in Joy Division we had no money, no way of recording ourselves, and the music only existed when we played. Looking back at that concept now- when we can just record everything and record anything on a computer- it was just so special. The reliance was total. You had to have all four of us to have that music. I must admit, Joy Division was a fantastic group. Each member held up his corner so fantastically and the strength of each member being right behind what they were doing. I’ve never been in a band like Joy Division since. It’s always been different and did not have the reliance and balance.

Some bands, like say Led Zeppelin or Queen, or Joy Division, each member is already insanely talented and they each work off each other so well. Is that just random coincidence? No, we have a term for that- “chemistry.” And that chemistry that makes you fantastic destroys you later. When New Order broke up in 2007, I actually had the thought that the best thing for bands to do was to not play music together. You know like how the Beach Boys would do it? One Beach Boy would write and the others would just sort of go out and play. Without the angst you don’t have the chemistry. It’s the price you pay for legacy, I guess. The longer you are in a group the more you have a chance of falling out.

I was watching an interview with Mick Jagger today, funnily enough. He was talking about his relationship with Keith Richards. Now we all know that has been very, very rocky, but the fact that they have managed to stay together has been quite an achievement.

In New Order, people’s ideals changed. We just became very, very different. By being different, we just made each other miserable. It was a great shame and I couldn’t pretend any more, It was untenable for me, what we were going through. My wife always says to me, when I got home from playing a gig with New Order, my face looked like slapped ass, as we say in England, and she says when I play with the light, I walk through the door with a smile on my face… so it might have been me!

A long the lines of “having a good time,” when you see people at a Peter Hook show, and you play a song like “Love will tear us apart,” everyone is having a great time! But, the song itself is an incredibly depressing tune. I wonder if you have ever contemplated that dichotomy. Yes, “love will tear us apart,” is the perfect contradiction. Thank God no one has ever written a song like that about me! It is a tragic song! The lyrics are heartbreaking. But I guess that’s the thing about it. I’m sure it’s not the only one like that- there are lots of songs that come across as pop hits but are actualloy insidiously telling a very, very sad story, which is what Ian did with that song. It is a very, very sad tale of a marriage break up hidden in a pop song. I’m sure a lot of people, even though they sing the lyrics, maybe they don’t realize the gravity behind them.

I think what I’m trying to celebrate when we play it is that we are all fans of the band and the musi8c is a joyous thing when it comes down to it. Most people make better music when they are angry, tired, poor, frustrated- Tony Wilson used to say to us as a “record boss” if you will, that we’ve got a lot to thank the Hacienda, the club in Manchester, for- it kept you poor and it kept you making great music! It’s like back handed compliment. Th music that we wrote when we were twenty was very angry, it was very confused, we were lashing out. The people of that age still have that frustration and that terrifying thought of what is going to happen, especially in this day and age. Look at any newspaper and you’ll be terrified. When I look at the Ukraine, or monkey pox, or Covid, or that the government in England is on the verge of breaking down for years- I’ve never seen moments like this in my life and they are terrifying. The wonderful thing in my life is I can go out and find a group of like-minded lunatics and sing along and forget about all that crap for an hour…

I’m lucky that we play for nearly THREE hours on this show. I’ve definitely ventured into Bruce Springsteen territory on this one- very, very happily I might add. The band is like “how many songs are we playing?!” In Joy division we would only play seven or eight, or maybe nine songs. In New Order, we’d only play ten or eleven, and even when we were headlining Glastonbury, we’d only play fifteen or sixteen. We knew like twenty songs. Now, I can paly like 100 songs. I’m looking forward to keeping dementia at bay for a while!

Actually, on all the Light tours, you usually do two albums and sometimes an opening set. You could “get away” with just doing one album, so, uh, why give yourself the extra work, I guess? Well you know what, it doesn’t feel like work, that's the interesting part. The band, we have these conversations all the time. We had just played Brixton academy and I wanted to play all of An Ideal for Living in addition to Unknown Pleasures and Closer - I had to practically bribe the boys to do it. But that show was wow! For me it’s about the chronological aspect of the music and showing the growth- showing how quickly Joy Division went from a punky, child like band I’d say, to large, majestic and powerful entity. I’d play the demos if I could persuade the boys! I’d like to do it! That’s the aspect that fascinates me. The amount of work that Maritn Hannett put into the songs- he taught us how to tune the keys, so each song is sympathetic to the next. These little tips were so wonderful in jhelping ud make a song so natural.

When we finish with “decades” there’s this wonderful [pregnant pause that suggests what could have come next. I’m very lucky in that, with Joy Division, we didn’t put any of the singles on the albums. For me, that means we’ve got the best chocolates to throw out at the end. We can paly “digitital,” “Dead souls,” “Transmission,” “Love will tear us apart.”

It’s amazing to me at how naïve, and young, and fresh we were as a band to throw out those singles- “don’t worry, we’ll write other songs!” We didn’t want to rip our fans off by regurgitating songs by putting singles on an LP. It was a noble idea that we stuck to as New Order for a so long until Factory records went bankrupt and we signed to London Records. That’s one of the things that I loved about punk rock. Its intentions were wonderful. It has changed so many people’s lives for the better.

Watching Danny Boyle’s Pistol , I actually really enjoyed it and I didn’t think I would. The way he caught the youth of the band and the stupidity that is in youth, the lack of knowledge, the lack of experience, I thought he made it work quite well. Many items when the band were being horrible to each other, it reminded me of Joy Division and early new Order. He caught the band dynamic very, very well. I actually thought he taught the story very well. The way the band treated Johnny Rotten was all very obvious, in a very school bullying way, which was quite sad but was quite normal. It was very well done. Joy Division was a punk band and I’ve got a punk attitude so you’ll have to drag me off!

I get really paranoid and I see people get hot or getting crushed or collapsing, and I think maybe we should ply for less. I’m indulging myself! The wonderful part of being in a band is you do get indulged! I went through the 80s and 90s indulgences, but this is a different kind of indulgences!

I think you, and even the other members of Joy Division, have all done a good job, of we’ll say, appreciating Ian Curtis without glamourizing his demise. I believe some friends of Kurt Cobain have expressed frustration that perhaps Cobain’s death has been glamourized and exploited. How do you feel when you see like a bootleg poster that says “Ian Curtis” and it has his birth and death dates on it. In the media, suicide can be glamourized a great deal. Yeah, especially in a group ethic, I supposed As an older punk- ha! The things that Ian missed the most was his child growing up and seeing a romance blossom with Annik. His relationship with Annik was cruelly shattered. It’s the every day things. He loved his dog. And I never realized the importance of that until after I got one. I don’t actually view the frustration of the group not carrying on. I think the sadness is that Ian never got to do the things that we did as we grew older and enjoyed. He had never been thanked by people by having them buy your records and giving you a certain lifestyle. Ian never got a penny form Joy Division. We were on one pound fifty a day in Joy Division. We didn’t earn any money from Joy Division until 1985 or something. The band had been finished for years. We didn’t learn anything from New Order for a long time but that’s a different story! He’s not my only friend that I have lost to suicide. It’s a short term solution to what seems like an end of the world problem.

My daughter is now 23, the same age of Ian when he died, and it’s unfathomable. I still have guilt and I still hate that we didn’t do enough to keep him… but we were 23. We didn’t know our ass from our elbow. I’ve got a picture of him here in my office that I see every day. I went to his grave today, actually. I was in the area and went to say hello, which is weird. I do it quite often.

To change gears, didn’t you record a session with Gwen Stefani once? Yes, I did… a very unsatisfactory session, as well.

Oh, why? Was it just not jiving? It was handled by a very famous producer called Spike Stent. He actually gave her a massive hit LP. I did a hell of a lot of work on the track. I took it somewhere else. I made it very New Order. Everything that I tried to do was frustrated by this producer. It got back to Gwen that I was unhappy with how it turned out and God bless her, she phoned me up and thanked me personally, which was wonderful. I got paid a lot of money for doing it, but it was very unsatisfactory. Maybe I knew what it could have been for me, yeah? But the producer didn’t like it. He actually said to me, “you’re taking too much off Gwen.” And I said, “that’s my job! That’s my job, mate! That’s what I do!” Gwen was lovely and I’ve seen her many times since and I regret my… churlishness, shall we say.

I’ve since learned, I think I had only done one session before that for Martha and the Muffins, so I didn’t know what to expect, and I guess I was sort of still keeping the flag flying for being a punk and writing your own material and it being used and I wasn’t aware of the politics and machinations of it. I learned a lot with that one. The great frustration of it was I was sent a framed nine times platinum disc1 so what do I know?!

New Order and Joy Division were very famous for their physical component. “Blue Monday” had the diskette jacket. “Bizarre Love Triangle” had those unique wash colors. Unknown Pleasures has the iconic image. But now, physical media is on its last legs. Is that a tragedy or is it just the way things go? Interestingly, I think I agree with you that it’s a tragic change. Over here is my record collection. The joy I get in playing my vinyl records is so great. The people that kept records going were the Germans. They wouldn’t give up vinyl. Thank God they were instrumentals in brining it back. And now I must admit that I’ve just done a Joy Division classical concert and a record of it. We put it out digitally and then we did an actual vinyl record and the vinyl record is wonderful. I have to say UI was so proud when I got it. For someone my age, I cannot completely switched off from that. Sometimes I stream, but here, I’ve got my Grace Jones album- wonderful- there is a difference with a record. It was a great shame but it’s coming back. I think young people are starting to realize the magic in playing as record. You can’t argue with the simplicity of it, but God help you if the Interne goes down. I’m happy there has been a resurgence and warner is putting out box set of the Joy Division and New Order albums.

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Listen to the soviet influence's new covers record and read the track-by-track breakdown, peter hook and the light announce 2024 tour (north america, uk, ireland), ratm, kate bush, willie nelson, more to be inducted into the rock hall, the white stripes, ratm, joy division, new order, more nominated for rock hall of fame, peter hook and the light add more dates to spring uk tour, ian curtis mural in manchester painted over for aitch advertisement, aitch apologizes, iggy pop, peter hook & the light, amyl &the sniffers, more to play destination chaos 2023, peter hook and the light announce 2022 tour dates, peter hook releases 20 hour audio book for 'substance: inside new order'.

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Peter Hook & The Light Announces ‘Joy Division: A Celebration’ North America Tour

At some twenty-six dates, the tour takes place across five weeks as the band performs Joy Division’s seminal two albums

“So yeah, from that point of view, it’s actually nice to bring the two albums together [live]: you can see the contrast quite vividly when we play them. I do get some very almost teary moments. It has been quite interesting because Closer really does have a big effect on people, from an emotional point of view. Unknown Pleasures is very aggressive, it’s very punky, so live, it really rocks. Whereas Closer is almost the exact opposite: it’s very melancholic. It draws you in, and I must admit not only does it get a very emotional response from us while playing it, but you get an emotional response from the audience.”  – Peter Hook  

A massive cross cross-continental journey, taking them across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022 for their biggest and most extensive trek to date, Peter Hook & The Light’s “Joy Division: A Celebration” North American tour launches August 11 in Toronto. Since announcing the tour last summer both Chicago shows at Metro are sold-out and joining as special guests will be El Ten Eleven in Chicago (both shows), Boston, Silver Springs, MD, Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

For details and ticket links go to:   www.peterhookandthelight.live

At some twenty-six dates overall, the tour takes place across five weeks as the band return to some venues and debut at others to perform Joy Division’s seminal two albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer in full with additional Joy Division rarities and an opening set of New Order material. The tour follows the debut UK dates for “Joy Division: A Celebration” which commemorate the 40th anniversary of Joy Division and Ian Curtis’ continuing influence.

A new clip of The Light performing “Ceremony” (one of the final two tracks Joy Division wrote) at the May 2015 Christ Church Macclesfield concert has been released here:

Returning for his ninth tour of the States with Peter Hook & The Light, Hooky comments: “ Definitely one of the highlights/lowlights of my profession is the travelling. It was amazing what a blessing it was not to have to do it over lockdown but amazing again how soon you missed seeing all these wonderful places the world has to offer. You lot in America are so lucky to have such a varied and wonderful country. I can’t wait to get back there, and my mouth is watering at the thought of going to my first ‘Coffee Shop’ breakfast. I am easily pleased.

“We have always been lucky to have been appreciated as much as we have in the States, ever since our first tour in September 1980. I am hoping for much the same this time. There is definitely a great appreciation for both Joy Division’s & New Order’s music. ”

These first dates were originally scheduled for May 2020, but due to the pandemic have only just taken place in the UK and across France to great reviews and reactions from fans and critics alike to The Light’s dedication to and passion for the catalogue across what is a near three-hour show.

About the reaction on returning to live concerts, Hooky added; “ The gigs so far have all been wonderful and the fans and the band have been wonderful too! It does nothing for my imposter syndrome;( “

“ I am very grateful that we have all risen back to this after what we have been through these past few years. Thank you all. We have a lot to be thankful for. Ian Curtis R.I.P.”

Aside from some one-off incidental dates such as The Roxy in Los Angeles, the “Joy Division: A Celebration” run of dates is the first time the band have toured both iconic albums in the same show in North America and the concerts are bound to be hugely special for the many devoted fans of the band.

With double concerts at the same venue announced for the opening nights in Toronto and then in Chicago, Austin, and Los Angeles the tour also takes in Montreal, Royal Oak, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Boston, Silver Spring, Philadelphia, New York, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.

These Joy Division album shows have become much less common for The Light as they moved through their progression of touring the New Order albums in succession in the twelve years since Hooky began his odyssey through both his bands’ back catalogues.

That journey has seen them now perform his bands’ albums all round the world including numerous tours of North and South America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and Asia.

The influence of Joy Division and their music remains strong in popular culture, holding a sincere reverence. The albums are played sequentially in track order, respecting the inspiration and impact of the stunning debut album Unknown Pleasures and the immaculately produced second Closer.

In addition to the albums, the concerts span the entirety of Joy Division’s rich but short career including early Warsaw material, tracks from the compilation LP Still to the final songs “Ceremony” and “In a Lonely Place” written by Joy Division which were to form New Order’s first single.

Catch Peter Hook & The Light on tour:

August 11 – The Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ONT

August 12 – The Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ONT

August 13 – Club Soda – Montreal, QC

August 15 – Royal Oak Music Theatre – Royal Oak, MI

August 16 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA

August 18 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN

August 19 – Metro – Chicago *SOLD OUT

August 20 – Metro – Chicago *SOLD OUT

August 22 – The Pabst Theatre – Milwaukee, WI

August 23 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA

August 25 – The Fillmore Silver Spring – Silver Spring, MD

August 26 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA

August 27 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY

August 29 – The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ

August 30 – Mohawk – Austin, TX

August 31 – Mohawk – Austin, TX

September 2 – House Of Blues Houston – Houston, TX

September 3 – House Of Blues Dallas – Dallas, TX

September 5 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO

September 6 – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay – San Diego, CA

September 8 – The Theatre At Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA

September 9 – The Theatre At Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA

September 10 – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA

September 12 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR

September 13 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA

September 14 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC

For details and ticket links go to www.peterhookandthelight.live

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About Joy Division

Peter Hook Brings Britain's Joy Division to Moscow

Peter Hook, founding member of two of the most influential British bands ever, the immortal Joy Division and the equally revered New Order, takes to the stage Saturday at Milk with his new group but will, nevertheless, be looking back at the original group.

His group, Peter Hook and the Light, pays tribute to Joy Division — the group that defined post-punk and broke up in 1980 with the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis — and to its "Unknown Pleasures," one of the most timeless and iconic debut records of all time.

"The Light started when I got a couple of my mates together to finally celebrate Joy Division," Hook said in a telephone interview.

The shock suicide of Curtis came just days before the band was set to tour the United States for the first time, and it hit Hook and the other Joy Division members hard.

"When Ian died, I more or less dived into a beer barrel," he said admitting that "in New Order, we very successfully ignored it for nigh on 30 years."

The new venture is part of an extended grieving process, he said. But he insists that it is far from a gloomy affair.

"It is like rediscovering this wonderful toy that you had when you were a kid, and you find it again at the back of a cupboard and remember how fantastic and in love with it you were!" he said with genuine warmth.

Hook is adamant that the Light will not "slip into tribute band territory." The show is built around playing Joy Division's debut album "Unknown Pleasures" in its entirety, but he sees the set as a "translation" of the band's music into a new ear, rather than an attempt to recreate the sound and  rawness of the past.

The group is playing Moscow partly after some timely advice from Andy Rourke, the former bassist of the 80s gladioli rockers, The Smiths.

"Andy was basically telling me what a great time they had when he was here last and how well looked after they were," he said. "When I DJ'd here, as I have been doing for the last six years, I was also really well looked after."

Joy Division has a surprisingly wide following in Russia and it is not difficult to draw a line between them and Kino, the legendary 1980s Soviet group whose lead singer, Viktor Tsoi also died young. Fans say they first listened to Kino before moving on to Joy Division and other post-punk English groups.

The concert will be the first chance for many to hear that Joy Division sound for real.

"Joy Division never made it to Russia. … They never made it out of England hardly!" said Hook, but this Saturday he promised "an enthusiastic, passionate, faithful rendition of Joy Division."

Peter Hook and the Light plays Moscow on Fri. at 8 p.m. Milk, 9 Ulitsa Sergeya Makeyeva. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tel. 726-0998. www.milkclub.ru

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