Chapter and Verse – New Order, Joy Division and Me
£10.50£11.40 (-8%)
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.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Corgi, 1st edition (10 Sept. 2015) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 368 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0552170496 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0552170499 |
| Dimensions | 12.7 x 2.2 x 19.8 cm |
by Aled
I’ve recently got back into listening to joy division and new order a lot lately, I’ve always been a fan but just lately listened to them some more. I wanted to get to know the songs better and people behind it so I purchased this book and now I’m obsessed!
It really feels as if you’re sat in a room with Bernard and he’s telling you all these things about his life as a kid, where he grew up, Hooky, Ian, Stephen, Tony, the nights out partying and it’s incredible how included you feel. It has great humour also which breaks up the more darker side of the book. Of course it does touch on Ian’s death but it doesn’t linger and I liked that about this book.
Without going on and on, I really recommend this book, there’s photos included which help you picture the scene.
The only thing I disliked was it wasn’t long enough, but of course that’s just me 😉
Just buy!!! Go go go
by :)
there’s a lot of conflicting reviews on here over whether this book was good and how large chunks of new order’s history were missed out. although it’s easy to understand the frustration behind this, this is a personal memoir by bernard, it’s not an in-depth analysis of the band – and from that perspective, this makes for a very good read.
it’s fascinating hearing bernard’s personal account of things, from way back in the joy division days, to the early new order days through to electronic. there are plenty of funny stories that had me laughing aloud and his writing style is so naturally flowing and engaging that it makes it such an easy story to consume. it was additionally nice hearing him talk about small things in his life that would’ve otherwise been kept private – the story about his sailing endeavors was particularity sweet and it’s always especially nice hearing small facts/side-stories about various aspects of his life/new order.
obviously there is mention of hooky in here, and i think the polarization of fans between the remaining members of new order and hooky is what divides an audience in reading this book. however, the mention of him is kept to a minimum, which although could be disappointing for those after the juicy gossip, i think just makes the book nicer to read as it doesn’t end up feeling like you’re reading one side of an argument. but bernard is complimentary towards hooky in the times he does mention him, and when it does get to the point where mentioning the bad stuff is inevitable, it’s spoken of in quite a calm way. although he’s clearly angry, he wishes hooky well and the chapter feels more like an insight into the issue rather than bernard getting back at hooky in one way or another.
bernard is a genius songwriter and “chapter and verse” gives a wonderfully interesting look into the world and life of new order’s lead singer in a light-hearted and well-told story. this book is a good reflection of bernard as a person and tells his personal story as well as how he developed his musicianship over the decades he worked as a part of joy division and new order (and electronic). the electronic part especially i found interesting – learning about his relationship with johnny marr and how their sound/albums came about wasn’t something i was expecting to get to read about.
all in all, a good read and i’d recommend for any new order/joy division/bernard fan.
by zoe goldsworthy
The history of Joy Division and birth of New Order fully explored in this personal perspective from the frontman. A lot of earlier personal details but the majority of the book is about the bands with little personal autobiography. Bernard has included A lot of behind the scenes content and a glimpse into the chaos of full throttle partying. I’m glad to read that New Order still enjoy touring and still have the thirst for more.
by SirChutney
Bernard Sumner is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is a founding member of both Joy Division and New Order. Sumner is credited with the latter band’s move towards electronica and synthpop. He was a founding member of Joy Division, a Salford band formed in 1976. He and childhood (but not later) friend Peter Hook both attended the fabled Sex Pistols concert at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall on July 20, 1976 and were inspired to form a band. The band is considered one of the most influential bands of the era. He is known as the band’s lead guitarist. But he also plays keyboards for synthesizer parts and made his first vocal appearance on record singing the chorus of “Walked In Line” on the Warsaw album. In May 1980, the band’s singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide, resulting in Joy Division’s end.
Sumner and remaining band members Peter Hook and Stephen Morris started a new band named New Order. They were later joined by keyboardist Gillian Gilbert in October 1980. Though Hook, Morris and Gilbert also contributed vocals on some early tracks, Sumner emerged as the band’s permanent singer and lyricist, alongside playing guitar and keyboards.
In 1989, Sumner joined up with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to form Electronic. He later went on to form Bad Lieutenant which as a result of the 2011 reformation of New Order, went on hiatus.
I started reading this book not long after having read both Peter Hook’s books: Unknown Pleasures and Substance. While Hook’s book’s are VERY detailed descriptions of the Joy Division and New Order, Sumner’s book takes a different approach. The early years in Salford and early days of Joy Division are fascinating. But then the chronology goes out of the window. After having discussed Blue Monday, for instance, he skips a whole era and talks about Touched by the Hand of God and Confusion. In fact, he mostly discusses individual songs rather than albums. Movement is discussed in length, but the next album he talks about is Technique. He doesn’t mention Power, Corruption and Lies and Low-Life. Brotherhood is talked about in one sentence, specifically Saville’s cover. Also, many other things are not or only minimally discussed. He skates over things a competent editor would have insisted he elaborate on.
Another aspect missing is the highs and lows of key relationships. Especially the conflict with Hooky. Apart from some token self-deprecation, he genuinely doesn’t seem to think he’s done anything wrong. He is keen to tell the world about it (I suggest he reads Substance by Hooky). Bizarrely, he chooses not to focus on this yet there are lengthy passages about getting wrecked in Ibiza. You’re left wondering if any of this is going anywhere? If you read Hooky’s books, you’ll find Hooky had a larger creative role to play than Sumner acknowledges here. What would Blue Monday sound like without Hookys bass lines for example?
The book will be of interest to any Joy Division or New Order fan. It gives another perspective on both these bands. But its best read in conjunction with Hooky’s literary output.