By Aditi Hrisheekesh, Music Deputy Editor
Get Ready was a ‘honeymoon record’. Peter Hook, former bassist and co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, called the 2001 New Order album that: an album barreling into the uncertainty of the new millennium, materialising out of decades of well-oiled post-punk. A tectonic shift away from the more dance-oriented electronic sound towards weightier, guitar-heavy rock.
Celebrating this album twenty-four years later at the Bath Komedia, Hook wields his iconic red bass, which rings like an eclectic time machine as he and The Light unspool an archival catalogue of Joy Division and New Order, pioneers of New Wave.
We arrived in Bath on a chilly afternoon; I’d never actually been before, so the day carried its own novelty of exploring, sinking into a festive spirit, before stepping into the Komedia. Once we entered, we settled in a spot next to the railing, and giddy anticipation was high for the almost three-hour set to unfold.
Much of the discography I’ve attached to such core memories within my life — 'Blue Monday' reminds me of going to my first house party, ‘Age of Consent’ I listened to throughout the summer after first year (probably one of the best summers of my life), ‘True Faith’ reminds me of the drive up to university on moving-in day and that thrilling feeling like you’re diving into the deep-end.
The first set consisted entirely of Get Ready – opening with this brought an overlooked album back into circulation. The album arrived at a time when British guitar music was entering its corporate millennium, and the industry was fumbling through the shift to compressed digital listening.
Many had dismissed it as a late-era detour. It was a definitive shift in New Order's sound, aligning with the rise of Britpop from the tail-end of the 90s, with writing shaped for a world suddenly listening on headphones or minidiscs rather than through the FM dial or club systems.
They kick off the set with 'Crystal', the floaty backing vocals of Dawn Zee creating an anticipatory, ethereal build-up before they truly wield this contrastingly heavier rock sound. This song even inspired The Killers, who took their name from the fictional band in its music video.
Seeing this live, the rhythmic ballast of Hooky’s bass formed melodic counterpoints bolstered by memorable guitar riffs and synth. I had been listening to 'Primitive Notion' constantly over the past few weeks — it was great to see how that deep bass and explosiveness still was underpinned by the lyrical disillusionment faithful to their post-punk roots: ‘I want it to feel like it did at the start’.
Since 2010, Peter Hook & The Light have systematically revisited albums from his time in earlier bands to ensure that every track receives its due. Hook has said that, with New Order, there was the tendency to get stuck in a loop of playing the same songs; with The Light, his live repertoire now includes over 150.
As well as Get Ready, they launch into New Order's 'Brutal' and their 2002 single 'Here to Stay’, a song that blends classic New Order style with a modern buoyancy. It was written alongside 24 Hour Party People, a film that turned Factory Records into folklore barely a decade after the label collapsed. It shows how the early 2000s processed the 80s – now processed again live in 2025 – and they are indeed here to stay, ‘like a bright light on the horizon’.
After a short interval, the mood of the night shifts, with the second set carved from a mixed discography. The first half sees some much-loved Joy Division classics like 'Transmission' and 'She's Lost Control', encompassed by their famously dark, atmospheric textures.
They start with 'Atrocity Exhibition' from Closer (1980), named after J.G. Ballard’s 1970 experimental novel. With its distinctively paranoid soundscape and lyrics, it propels the same media-induced psychological fragmentation as the book. It feels ever more relevant in 2025, with the rise of social media and the digital age obscuring reality and spectacle where sensationalisation becomes dangerous.
When 'Disorder' comes on, it’s a dream come true for me (definitely one of my favourites). Hook's vocals carry that deeply melancholic sincerity, with his signature bassline, the second bass filled in by his son Jack Bates. Bridging past and present, you're tugged into that disillusioned territory of sound, revelling in those eclectically wonderful New Wave roots.
Time seems to bend in this three-hour set as they veer into some New Order classics, including 'Age of Consent' and 'Dreams Never End'. And when 'Blue Monday' comes on, there’s a matching palette of strobe lights, that futuristic electronic sound enticing you into dancing.
Benji Chapman
And there’s no better end than to culminate with Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. There is something so poignant and memorable seeing this live — me and my friend cling onto each other as we sing along with the crowd (having frequented Thekla on a Thursday night over the past couple years enough times to hear this and sing along in the hazy hedonistic early hours of the morning, it was definitely on my bucket list to actually see it performed fully-fledged).
Within a crowd that spanned across generations, and a setlist that spanned across decades, it's that song that epitomises the universal experience of love and its loss which is timeless. There is a unity in the disillusioned.
Featured Image: Epigram / Aditi HrisheekeshDo you have a favourite Joy Division / New Order song?
