30 June 2024 (gig)
01 July 2024
After a decade-long hiatus, Guildford’s leading music festival, GuilFest made a triumphant return to its home ground of Stoke Park. Joining the reunion, bassist and co-founder of seminal bands Joy Division and New Order, Peter Hook and his band The Light graced the main stage on the last day of this milestone weekender.
As Sunday’s penultimate act, Peter Hook and the Light could easily have been mistaken as the headliner of this modest but mighty festival. Hooky walked onstage confidently and comfortably. We were seeing a man totally at ease with himself and large crowds. After all, he has been doing this since the late 1970’s and, at present, shows no sign of stopping. To begin, Peter humbly thanked everyone for coming out and, from that moment on, we were instantly enraptured by and endeared to him.
Their sublime 90-minute set started with New Order’s sincere ‘Your Silent Face’ taken from Power, Corruption & Lies (1983). It engulfed the entire festival with New Order’s signature 80’s synth-pop sound. Flawlessly, they transitioned into one of their biggest hits ‘Blue Monday’. Personally, hearing that legendary drum intro on one of the most iconic and innovative songs in UK music history was a truly incredible collective experience!
Next-up was New Order’s infectious club classic ‘Everything’s Gone Green’ and the first of two forays into Joy Division’s back catalogue with ‘She’s Lost Control’ from Unknown Pleasures (1979). We find ourselves immersed in Hook’s mythical post-punk basslines. Many admirers of Peter Hook will know, he has his own signature sound and his “Hookian basslines” have influenced bassists for decades and his riffs are on display for the whole world to see.
Our energy levels are taken up a couple of notches with ‘Crystal’, New Order’s lead single from comeback record Get Ready (2001), along with their pop masterpiece ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ from Brotherhood (1986). Both are rousing crowd-pleasers and perfect for this sunny Sunday evening.
Their euphoric set ended with a string of stand-alone widely acclaimed New Order singles: ‘True Faith’, ‘Temptation’ and 1990’s FIFA World Cup football anthem ‘World in Motion’. As England had just won their Euro 2024 match against Slovakia, Peter paid tribute to their win by encouraging us to repeatedly sing “En-ger-land” as loudly and proudly as we possibly could. The honour of delivering Barnes’ rap was left to a young lad onstage. He did a smashing job reciting the lyrics and deserved our enthusiastic applause!
The last track of the night was, of course, one of the greatest alternative singles of all time, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. It was a beautiful yet bittersweet farewell reminding us of the enduring legacy of Joy Division and New Order’s music. Thank you Peter Hook and the Light for a timeless and unforgettably enjoyable set.
Set list:
1. Your Silent Face
2. Blue Monday
3. Everything's Gone Green
4. She's Lost Control
5. Crystal
6. Bizarre Love Triangle
7. True Faith
8. Temptation
9. World in Motion
10. Love Will Tear Us Apart
