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Bernard Sumner
Guitarist in Joy Division and New Order frontman.
Peter Hook
Hooky. The man with the bass.
Steven Morris
Drummer. Later to become member of The Other Two.
Gillian Gilbert
Keyboard player. Later to become other member of The Other Two.
Tony Wilson
Director of Factory Records. Genius. Wanker. Nothing in between.
Rob Gretton
Joy Division and New Order Manager, and Director of Factory Records. Haçienda was his brainchild.
Alan Erasmus
Factory Company Director and friend of Wilson.
Rob summoned a meeting in a café in the middle of town. When Alan and Tony swung in, they noticed that as well as the drummer, guitarist, bass player and manager, there was this girl they vaguely recognised.
She was introduced, Gillian Gilbert. Steve's girlfriend. Of course. She'd got on stage and done a bit of guitar at a Joy Division gig at Eric's.
'We've decided to continue,' said Rob, a little portentously.
'We'll do the rearranged America trip as a three-piece but when we come back, Gillian will join and we'll be back to four.'
Wilson and Erasmus were surprised. Very.
Twenty-four hours later they were even more surprised. When they'd had time to think about it. 'Cause they'd both wondered about replacement lead singers. But. Fucking hell, Gretton's clever. Don't mess with the family. Don't answer a tragedy with the complication of an outsider. Probably Gretton's finest move. And Erasmus and Wilson admitted that they would never have thought of it.
'A girl singer, brilliant, it says new direction, couldn't be more different,' cooed Wilson.
'I'm not singing,' said Gillian
'Well I'm not fucking singing,' said Bernard. 'How can I sing and play guitar? I'm not fucking Roger Whittaker.'
'Well I'm not singing,' repeated Gillian.
'Well?' said Wilson.
'Keyboards; she plays keyboards,' said Rob, implacably.
'Well, I've got a keyboard; we just bought it. Seems quite easy. A lot of it's done for you, you know, you just press the buttons.'
'I don't mind singing,' said the keyboard player's boyfriend.
They all ignored him. He's a drummer and these people were far too worldly and hip to think that the lovely Phil Collins could ever be a valid role model.
The uneasy crown of the frontman was later to fall firmly on Barney's head but that was for later. For now, fucking get on with it.
'Great, you seem to have loads of ideas. It's going to be a very different Joy Division.'
'It's not going to be Joy Division. We all made an agreement when we started that if any member left the group we would have to change the name.'
'And I suppose Ian's left the group.'
'Looks like it.'
'So we're changing the name.'
'Well, that's something anyway,' said Alan, revealing for the first time perhaps his slight unease with all this post-modern cleverness and German shit.
'We're going to be called New Order.'
Great, great name, said Wilson. And the poor, sad fuck was sincere.
It wasn't until two months later that he found out 'New Order' was a common phrase, but one that had reared its head in Mein Kampf.
From 24 Hour Party People, by Tony Wilson.
Click here to buy a copy
