Joy Division and Smiths Members Turn Manchester Tour Guides

So, it seems that former Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook is far deeper into his nostalgia trip than Spinner originally thought. As previously reported, the low-slung-bass player and numerous associates are planning to re-create Joy Division's seminal debut, 'Unknown Pleasures,' at Hook's Factory-influenced nightclub, FAC251, on the the 30th anniversary of singer Ian Curtis's death on May 18. Now it appears that Hook is about to become a tour guide celebrating Manchester's rich musical heritage.

Along with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce and Damon Gough -- aka Badly Drawn Boy -- Hook will join journalist Luke Bainbridge on April 24 when the quartet will conduct a tour of the city that spawned such influential bands as Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, A Certain Ratio, 808 State, the Fall and, er, Freddie and the Dreamers. Only 15 pairs of tickets are on offer, and only to readers of the Guardian newspaper's Web site.

With the tour scheduled to last two-to-three hours, fans will be given a detailed tour down Memory Lane as the protagonists recall their younger years. Keeping up the nostalgic theme, the tour winds up at -- where else? -- FAC251, where tourists will get a glimpse of Manchester's future courtesy of a gig from the up and coming band, Performance.

Misty-eyed fans wanting to take part in the tour are advised to make their way to the Guardian Web site and leave their details there before April 15.