PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT A NOSTALGIC TRIUMPH AT O2 ACADEMY LEEDS
It was on a rainy Saturday night, November 29, 2025, that Peter Hook & The Light closed their UK Get Ready 2025 tour with a dazzling finale at the O2 Academy, Leeds, playing a setlist that wove through the rich heritage of both Joy Division and New Order anthems. Hook, the legendary bassist and co-founder of both iconic bands, proved he still had the fire in his belly, overcoming a problematic shoulder condition to take the stage by storm with his unmistakable powerhouse bass playing and sarcastic Mancunian humour. Clocking in at about two and a half hours, the performance was divided into two acts: the inaugural playback of the 2001 album Get Ready by New Order, immediately followed by a blistering best-of celebration that transported the packed audience back to the joyous post-punk and synth-pop peaks of the iconic bands.
Peter Hook doesn’t just revisit Joy Division and New Order, he reanimates them with fire and fury.
The night kicked off with Get Ready, which Hook himself said was much more fun to play live than record, likening the initial recording sessions to a “second honeymoon” with fellow musician Bernard Sumner, until it ended on a sour note. Danceable beats were started with the energised Crystal and the haunting, hallucinatory Someone Like You. Standouts were the rocking 60 Miles an Hour and the bass-heavy garage rock of Turn My Way, where Hook showcased why his playing influenced the likes of U2 and Radiohead. The band also played the non-album track extras Brutal and Here to Stay before the intermission.
This wasn’t a trip down memory lane; it was a living, breathing testament to Manchester’s musical DNA.
The Light next delved into the depths of the Joy Division tracks: No Love Lost, A Means to an End, Interzone, Isolation, and Day of the Lords, conveying the raw, live intensity of the originals. This was expertly supplemented by the seamless segue into the New Order tracks: Age of Consent, Everything’s Gone Green, Your Silent Face, and Regret, showcasing Hook’s development from dark, swooning bass motifs to disco-infused funk. Even the loving tribute of Atmosphere, given to the late Gary “Mani” Mounfield (of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, who tragically passed on November 20, 2025), contributed a poignant resonance, paying tribute to the Manchester legend.
The pace picked up towards the end, and the hall was transformed into a lively Hacienda for powerhouse treatments of Blue Monday, Bizarre Love Triangle, Temptation, and True Faith. Closing their show with the iconic Love Will Tear Us Apart, the audience joined their voices together for the choruses of the anthemic love song, with the packed room vibrating with the movement of bodies grooving to the music.
Overall, the night was a tribute to the lasting legacy of Hooky, it was not simply a nostalgic revival of familiar favourites but a rocking celebration of music that lives on.
Two and a half hours of pure immersion, proof that post‑punk and synth‑pop still pulse with relevance.
The Light lineup, also including Hook’s own son Jack on bass, guitarist David Potts, and the rest of the group, played expert, cross-generational support, so that the sold-out crowd felt intimate.
The Light don’t just support Hook, they amplify him, turning generational memory into a present‑tense celebration.
With tour dates around the globe already scheduled for 2026, it appears that Peter Hook is not slowing down, he’s merely gearing up for the next show.
Words Rachel Brown
Photographs Justin Leeming
