Bass players are always the underdogs of the band, but I made sure that I was never viewed as one. I went out of my way to steal as much limelight as I could
If there was ever one bass player who has influenced me in playing bass guitar, it’s been Peter Hook. At the beginning of learning to play bass guitar, you learn the usually simple stuff like “Seven Nation Army” by The Whitestripes. Really basic stuff.
But it’s usually a question of what’s next? I couldn’t play slap bass and was quickly losing favour with playing the traditional low parts on the bass guitar.
It hit me though when I saw a video of the band New Order performing a very early form of their song Temptation. It hit after watching that video that whoever was playing the bass guitar had left an everlasting impact on me.
It sounded nothing like what a bass guitar should sound to me, at least at that time. It played the role of the lead, melodic and rhythm instrument all in one while driving the song as well.
Hook was above and beyond what bass playing was to me at the time. I hadn’t really heard anyone basing their style on playing on the high end of the bass. They usually play as holding the rhythm on the low end of the bass.
I was a changed player and Peter Hook had left a lasting effect on me and now I had to try and learn how he played.
The starting point for me was his bass playing on Joy Division’s debut album Unknown Pleasures.
From listening to songs like “Disorder” and “She’s Lost Control really emphasized that punk notion to me of less is more. You can be the anchor for the music but also be a bit flashy as well. Especially on “She’s Lost Control” Hook played really high up on the bass which made the bass have a bit more power to it and caught my eye in terms of playing the bass differently.
By Joy Division’s next album, Hook had already started incorporating the six string bass guitar more into his repertoire.
By using the six string bass guitar, it further pushed Hook’s notion of playing high and melodic. It was an important music development for Hook. When the Joy Division ended after singer Ian Curtis’s suicide, the remaining members regrouped as New Order.
By the time New Order had begun, it was here where another important step in Hook’s playing began.
As New Order began incorporating more synthesisers and becoming more dance, it allowed for Hook to allow the synthesisers to handle the bass notes while he fitted his high bass playing around the music.
The key example of this can be seen in “Bizare Love Triangle”. While it’s a great dance track, Hook’s high melodic bass playing provides a strong anchor that isn’t really heard a lot in dance music. A great New Order song.
What I also love about Hook’s bass playing is that it’s easy to hear which makes it a little bit easier to try and learn on bass. Compared when trying to listen to normal bass guitar in rock songs, it can be difficult to hear it obviously due to the volume of the guitar and drums.
I learned to play bass guitar by mainly listening by ear. So it taught me to try and have a good ear when trying to learn it.
An album that really helped in this regard was New Order’s 1986 album Brotherhood. Not only are the songs great, but the bass is placed right up front. It’s also not complex playing, it’s just simple and takes a bit of time to try and learn it. Songs like “Weirdo”, “All Day Long” and “Every Little Counts” really helped me in developing an ear for trying to learn and playing music.
What also struck me was when I saw Peter Hook and The Light in the Academy in April performing the New Order albums Low-Life and Brotherhood with a mate. It was when I saw him live I was amazed was the volume of his bass playing. Holy shit was it loud!
It kind of reminded painfully how much New Order are hurting without him in the band. When they released Music Complete in 2015 I did like it (especially ‘Restless’) but it was kind of like with Hook gone, the power was taken out of their music.
The gig was great and the old feeling kicked that I was trying to concentrate on what he was playing just so when I was home I could at least try and replicate what he was playing, awfully at least anyway!
Key songs of Peter Hook’s bass playing
Nostalgic Beat 
