Chapter and Verse - New Order, Joy Division and Me
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4.2 • 38 Ratings
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
Founding member and guitarist of Joy Division and the lead singer of New Order, Bernard Sumner has been famous over the years for his reticence. Until now… An integral part of the Manchester music scene since the late 1970s, his is the definitive version of the events that created two of the most influential bands of all time.
Chapter and Verse includes a vivid and illuminating account of Bernard’s Salford childhood, the early days of Joy Division, the band’s enormous critical and popular success, and the subsequent tragic death of Ian Curtis. Bernard describes the formation of New Order, takes us behind the scenes at the birth of classics such as 'Blue Monday' and gives his first-hand account of the ecstasy and the agony of the Haçienda days.
Sometimes moving, often hilarious and occasionally completely out of control, this is a tale populated by some of the most colourful and creative characters in music history, such as Ian Curtis, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannett. Others have told parts of the story, in film and book form. Now, for the first time, Bernard Sumner gives you chapter and verse.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Los Angeles produced the Beach Boys; Manchester produced Joy Division," writes former Joy Division band member Sumner. The Beach Boys' music was full of "warmth and sunshine," while Joy Division's music was "cold, sparse, and, at times, bleak," like Manchester. In meandering style, Sumner tells a story that is also sparse and bleak. In the absence of a stable family life, Sumner and his friends, including his future bandmate Peter Hook, discover music on the rough-and-tumble street corners of Manchester; he acknowledges that the music from the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was the first music to "knock him sideways." From his first gig at the Electric Circus in Manchester he learns how to be a performer, and the songs that make up Joy Division's most famous album, Unknown Pleasures, grow out of that gig. Singer Ian Curtis's suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour dramatically alters the musical landscape for Joy Division, but out of the ashes of that band rises New Order, fronted by Sumner and Hook, whose music grows increasingly popular through the 1980s. Rock and roll success leads to excess, as the members of New Order descend into endless partying and drug abuse. Sumner's writing can flatten at times, but to fans of Joy Division and New Order, this will be a mere respite from an otherwise good story,.
Customer Reviews
Bayern parked the bus?
I'll take Bernard Sumner's word (or words) as gospel except for Bayern parking the bus (and I'm a United fan).
Disappointing
2.5/5
An extremely incoherent, unstructured piece of work. Barney can't seem to work out if he's telling the story of JD/NO, a set of funny anecdotes, or literally whatever comes into his head. To illustrate my problems with this book, I've chosen 3 (huge) sins:
1. He spends A LOT of time talking about how special New Order are
2. He omits extremely important information (for example, the fact he has a son (until he comments on his 10th birthday...), and the words 'Brotherhood' and 'Loveless' don't even feature in the whole book)
3. His writing style is repetitive and bland. I'm not a fan of his lyrics at all (too cheesy for me) but I am a huge NO fan, so was disappointed that his prose was just as crap (albeit in a different way) as his lyrics
That said, much of what IS included is entertaining. It's just a shame so much is missed out or told badly.
Read Nice's Shadowplayers for a much better story.