Peter Hook Blames New Order's Split on Alzheimer's

In the truest sense of the word ironic, Peter Hook formed the idea for his new bass-heavy supergroup Freebass with former Blur bassist Alex James. The irony of course is that James has now teamed with Hook's ex-band mates in New Order to form Bad Lieutenant. Got that? Regardless, Hook tells Spinner he's still cool with James. "Yeah, Alex and I have been friends for years, still are to the best of my knowledge," he tells Spinner, laughing.

As for the rest of his former bandmates, Hook blames their falling out on a couple of different things, including lack of communication. "I didn't think, which was proved wrong, actually, that Bernard [Sumner, vocalist] was very interested in New Order," Hook says. "I got the impression he couldn't give a f--- to be honest, whether it happened or not. And it's quite interesting because when I told him I didn't want to work with him anymore through our manager he didn't respond. Then he started telling everyone that I hadn't told him. I put it down to Alzheimer's. He seems to have forgot that he'd been told six months before."

If you think there's animosity though, Hook swears that isn't the case. "It was a wonderful partnership while it lasted, it really was. But in my mind the time had come." And to prove his graciousness, he is actually a fan of the first Bad Lieutenant song he heard. "I heard the track he did, which I thought was okay," he says.

At 53, having gone through several bands, Hook is actually pretty philosophical over the split of a partnership that lasted more than three decades in Joy Division and New Order. "It's one of those funny things, when you're so close to somebody, when you work like that you tend not to talk," he says. "We are the old cliché in music; every group you look at ends up like us. It's an old musician thing, isn't it? It's not been done for the first time in New Order and it won't be the last time that a group will fall out, will it?"

Can't argue with that.