British rock band New Order, which arose from the ashes of post-punk band Joy Division in the early 1980s, has broken up, according to a Web posting by the group’s bass player.
“I’m relieved really hated carryin’ on as normal with an awful secret so let’s move on shall we?” Peter Hook wrote in a blog published on Wednesday on his MySpace page.
Hook first revealed the split as an aside during an interview last weekend with Manchester radio announcer Clint Boon, when he said, “... me and Bernard (Sumner, New Order singer/guitarist) aren’t working together.”
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Hook and Sumner have been working together since the mid-1970s, when they co-founded Joy Division, the gloomy combo best known for the mournful single “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
After singer Ian Curtis hanged himself in 1980, the pair — along with Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris — formed New Order, and recruited Gillian Gilbert on keyboards.
The group issued its debut album in 1981, and went on to enjoy enormous success throughout the decade with such singles as “Blue Monday” and “Bizarre Love Triangle,” and albums like ”Power, Corruption and Lies” and “Low-Life.”
New Order was less prolific during the 1990s, as its members took on side projects. The band’s most recent album, ”Waiting for the Siren’s Call” — a follow-up to 2001’s “Get Ready” — debuted at No. 46 on the U.S. pop album charts in May 2005. It did better in Japan, opening at No. 3, and in Britain, at No. 5.