Unknown Pleasures : Inside Joy Division

Author: Hook, Peter

The arts

Published on 14 July 2016 by Simon & Schuster Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 368 pages, 16pp colour plates
193 x 124 x 25 | 282g

'Genuinely funny; indeed, the story will keep you entertained for a very long time' Sunday Times   Joy Division changed the face of music.

Godfathers of the enduring alternative scene, they reinvented rock in the post-punk era, creating a sound – dark, hypnotic, intense – that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead and many others. This is the rollercoaster story of Joy Division – the friendships, fights, fall-outs; the rehearsals and recording sessions; the larger than life characters – told by the band’s legendary bassist, Peter Hook.

  'Hook has restored a flesh-and-blood rawness to what was becoming a standard tale. Few pop music books manage that' Guardian   'An honest, enthusiastic account . . . it’s a window like no other into the reality of life in this most aloof of bands' Metro   'An immense account of Joy Division’s rise . . . having read Hook’s book, you’ll feel like you were the fifth member of the band' GQ   'A bittersweet, profanity-filled recollection . . . if you like Joy Division, you really have to read it' Q Magazine   'Hook lifts the lid on the real Ian Curtis' NME   'He's frank, incredibly funny, and it isn’t shy' Artrocker