For a man who has played almost 900 gigs in the last 15 years, three weeks of medically mandated rest have left Peter Hook feeling that “nobody loves me”. Surgery on his rotator cuff injury – sustained while walking his dogs – has left him unable to play. Initially, after realising that he “couldn’t get a bloody doctor’s appointment” for a long time, he kept thinking: “you know what, it feels like I could play – and lo and behold, I could”. His bandmates even claimed that he “play[ed] less bum notes” with the injury than before.

But Hook tells me that: “I use music, like anyone else, to get through tough times.” Hook says that music helps you and has been proven to lessen pain, and the songs easing him through his recovery come from Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales’ 2007 album, Room 29. Ultimately, what really spurs him on is the thought of getting back on the road again: “you crave it … I love it, and I still enjoy it so much.”

“Since New Order split in 2007, I’ve never really stopped”

Peter Hook and the Light’s tour dates are striking in their intensity. While most bands are scaling back, the Light are on a near-constant timetable of dates across the UK and the world. “Since New Order split in 2007, I’ve never really stopped,” Hook admits. He is “just happy to get a gig wherever and whenever”. Unlike “the 1% band [Oasis]”, who charge extortionate amounts at a limited number of venues, Hook would much rather bring his show directly to his fans.

While touring with New Order in the lead up to their break-up, Hook found himself constrained by both where and what he was playing. Out of a catalogue of about 300 songs, he found himself playing the same 17 or 20 all the time. “Now I’m spoilt for choice … it keeps it fresh for us.” He likes to throw in some of the “off-beat, wacky stuff” alongside the classics you would expect from the man who formed Joy Division and New Order.

“Out of a catalogue of about 300 songs, he found himself playing the same 17 or 20 all the time”

“My aim, when I got rid of those miserable bastards, was to play every song we’d written and recorded.” With so many B-sides and other obscure tracks, Hook soon realised that this was to be a much harder task than he first expected. Inspired by Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie touring his band’s classic album Screamadelica, Hook was determined to perform his albums in full. At first, he says: “as a concept, a lot of people didn’t get it,” but for him “it reaffirms something that we’ve lost – the vinyl LP running order.”

Now, fifteen years on, having toured many of the better known Joy Division and New Order albums, Hook is turning to the 2001 album Get Ready. Even he appeared a little sceptical at first; although it was the band’s biggest selling album in the US, most of the tracks “got passed by” even when it was new. However, after listening to it again, Hook decided that “it’s not that bad!” and will be touring it in the same way that he has toured the other albums.

Doing this has taught him a lot about his own music. Whilst touring Joy Division’s Closer, he realised how much his former band’s music moves people, even now.

“He gets to see three generations at a concert now”

Fans matter to Hook. “I’ve always had contact with fans” he says, remembering replying personally to his fans’ letters when the other members of the band “weren’t interested.” Even the Light’s setlists seem to tailor to the tastes of his fans, both passing and devout. While the first set tends to be an album played in full, the second set revives around ten classics each from Joy Division and New Order.

You’d be forgiven for expecting his fans to be “fat, bald, old blokes”. That’s what Hook himself expected when he started touring in 2010. It’s a great compliment to him that he gets to see three generations at a concert now.

Despite some clear bitterness towards his former bandmates, Hook keeps returning to his old songs because he believes in them: “I’ve always thought Joy Division and New Order were a fantastic group,” even if when “we used to play to hundreds of thousands of people… none of us were happy.” Now, playing gigs in venues where “I could sweat and the audience would smell it, and the audience could sweat and I would smell it,” he’s realised that “for me, it’s perfect”.