Unknown Pleasures

Inside Joy Division

By: Peter Hook

Narrated by: Peter Hook

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Joy Division changed the face of music. Godfathers of alternative rock, they reinvented music in the post-punk era, creating a new sound - dark, hypnotic, and intense - that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead, and numerous others. The story is now legendary: In 1980, on the heels of their groundbreaking debut, Unknown Pleasures, and on the eve of their first U.S. tour, the band was rent asunder by the tragic death of their enigmatic lead singer, Ian Curtis. Yet in the mere three years they were together, Joy Division produced two landmark albums and a handful of singles - including the iconic anthem "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - that continue to have a powerful resonance.

Now, for the first time, their story is told by one of their own. In Unknown Pleasures, founding member and bass player Peter Hook recounts how four young men from Manchester and Salisbury, with makeshift instruments and a broken-down van, rose from the punk scene to create a haunting, atmospheric music that would define a generation. Peter talks with eye-opening candor and reflection about the suicide of Ian Curtis; the band's friendships and fallouts; the evolution of their sound and image; and the larger-than-life characters who formed a vital part of the Joy Division legend, including Factory Records founder Tony Wilson and producer Martin Hannett. Told with surprising humor and vivid detail, Unknown Pleasures is the book Joy Division fans have awaited for decades.

©2012 Peter Hook (P)2012 AudioGo Ltd

Required reading for post-punk nerds.

Required reading for post-punk nerds. So many pranks, I mean f&#$, they were absolutely merciless.

Intimate look

Peter Hook was as open and honest as anyone could hope for about this entire history of Joy Division. Not just its tragic end, but everything at all steps. Beautifully performed. The only downside is the long tedious timelines which probably worked great in print but not so much as audio, and they were a sizable percentage of this short book.

Fantsatic read!

The direct insight into an amazing band and world of people. Hooky's story is honest forthright, reflective, compelling and intriguing. His details about Joy Division especially the life and character of Ian Curtis give you an understanding of his turmoil and brilliance also described so well by others. For a man thats tone deaf and self taught he still remains one of my favorite bass players and has a life long fan now.

what a great story.

Hooky tells a story that encompasses every emotion possible, in an open an frank manner that made me listen on enthralled, although I am not a huge JD fan. It's a documentation of an era in modern music history, but also an involving story of friendship, loneliness, drive and any amount of weird and funny shit. It got to me, and I will probably read it again. Thanks for that, Hooky. And for all the bass and technical info, that was enlightening.

Love the band even more now

Finally I got to learn about the inner-workings of a band I've always admired, who spawned New Order, which as an 80's DJ, was one of my top played bands, It was exciting to hear the impassioned story that Peter delivers, with humor and bite. I'm willing to accept it as honest, from his point of view. It makes me want to read the guitarist, Bernard's book (which I wish was available on Audible). If you love Joy Division and New Order and want to get a glimpse into the Manchester scene of the late 70's -90's, spend some time with Unknown Pleasures, the book and the music.

Must have!

If you love this band then you'll love this book, you'll feel like you're the fifth member of the band I enjoy reading the physical book then got this just to remember and hear his voice

Wonderful

Wonderful reading of a fantastic book. Hook really gets you to the heart of Joy Division.

Amazing story, enjoyable narration

I've read this book in print, but author Peter Hook's narration (with its strong local accent) adds a whole new layer to this story set in Northern England. Recommended.

Peter Hook is natural story teller!

I found this to be compelling and a rather fun listen. His voice is easy on the ears and I found him rather easy to follow as the story unfolded.
Maybe I just watch too much British television but I did not find the colloquialisms and/or slang to hinder my understanding of what he was saying at all and I'm nestled here in the deep south of the United States.

Nice one, ‘ooky!

I had read “Substance - Inside New Order” by Peter Hook and “Chapter and Verse” by Bernard Sumner some years ago around the same time. I liked Bernard’s account but found Peter’s story telling more entertaining, almost like sitting down in a pub with a friend who’s full of anecdotes from a long trip and he’s telling you about it as the pints of beer get consumed.

The Joy Division story here is equally factual and entertaining. In addition HEARING Peter Hook telling it is definitely a plus. A good lesson on Mancunian accent and English expressions. ‘ooky, as it’s apparently properly pronounced by those close to him, does a great job at injecting the right emotion where it is needed, not just a plain reading of the text. He’s very gracious at acknowledging the talent of those who were around at the time this book takes place, also very humble and humorous when admitting the times he f*cked up (something rubbed off on me!). I kept pausing or adding bookmarks to show my son some of the passages I thought were hilarious and my teenage son also had a laugh or found them interesting.

Only thing I think could have done without or with a more summarized version is the timelines. Too extensive and sometimes not very relevant in my opinion.

Definitely worth a listen or more than one!