Peter Hook To Play Intimate Joy Division Gig For Headstock Fundraiser

Peter Hook & The Light to Play Headstock Mental Health Fundraiser at Manchester’s Star & Garter – Home of the Ian Curtis Mural

●        The intimate event will include a Q&A with musician Peter Hook, plus a Joy Division set with his band Peter Hook and The Light

●        The Star & Garter is home to the stunning mural of Joy Division singer, Ian Curtis

●        Tickets to the exclusive event will be allocated via a ticket ballot on ticketing site, Skiddle.

●        Proceeds from ticket sales will support mental health text-support charity, Shout.

Music & Mental Wellbeing Festival, Headstock has announced that Peter Hook & The Light will play a one-off mental health fundraising event at Manchester’s Star & Garter, one of the city’s best-loved independent live music venues.

‘Peter Hook & The Light: An Evening of Music & Conversation’ will see the legendary Joy Division & New Order bassist take part in a hosted Q&A, to discuss his time with Joy Division, as well as his close friendship with Curtis. Later in the evening, Peter will be joined on stage by his band to play a Joy Division set for just 200 lucky fans.

The intimate show is due to take place on Friday 12th April 2024, with proceeds from the special Headstock event going to support mental health charity, Shout. The gig will also take place in memory of Ian Curtis who tragically lost his life to suicide back in May 1980.

Arguably one of the most influential and pioneering music bands of all time, Joy Division was a post-punk rock band formed in Salford in 1976 by Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner, with Ian Curtis and Stephen Morris joining shortly after.

This year (2023) Joy Division received an inaugural nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside iconic, globally renowned artists and bands such as: Kate Bush, Iron Maiden, George Michael and Rage Against The Machine.

Peter Hook commented: “I have campaigned for a long time for Ian and Joy Division to be commemorated anyway and anywhere possible. From the statue in Macclesfield, still ongoing, to the mural in Macclesfield, to the mural in Manchester, and the upcoming one in Stockport. I will only rest when every town in Great Britain has something. 

“I am immensely proud of Ian and our work as Joy Division and to celebrate it in this way is such a pleasure. I am hoping to bring Ian’s best man at his wedding and childhood friend, Kelvin Briggs to join me so fans can get a real insight into this wonderful man and artist. To play at such an iconic venue as the Star and Garter just seals the deal perfectly.”

Given the limited capacity at the venue (200), tickets will be allocated via a ticket ballot which is due to launch on Skiddle on Monday 04th December, https://skiddle.com/e/37141791 Each successful ballot entrant will be allocated two tickets to the event. Pricing for the ticket ballot is as follows:

-          1x ballot entry - £10

-          3x ballot entries - £15

-          10x ballot entries - £20

Money raised via the ticket ballot will go to support Shout’s free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope.

Headstock Founder, Atheer Al-Salim said: “We are so grateful to Peter Hook and his band who are giving up their time and talent to help us raise much needed funds to support our charity partner, Shout, and their life-saving text-support service. The evening promises to be a poignant moment for Manchester, and an event of huge musical and cultural significance for the city.”

Victoria Hornby, CEO of Shout said: "We're incredibly grateful to Peter Hook & The Light and Headstock for putting on this very special event which will raise vital funds for us to keep the Shout text messaging support service running 24/7. Our volunteers take up to 2,000 conversations with children, young people and adults in urgent need of mental health support every day and every £10 raised funds a conversation that could save a life."

The Grade II listed Star & Garter is home to the recently reinstated mural of Hook’s former Joy Division bandmate, Ian Curtis, which was unveiled ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day in September 2023.

The event at The Star & Garter – which has also hosted bands such as Courteeners, Frank Carter & The Rattle Snakes and Bring me The Horizon – is taking place seven months after the stunning mural of Ian Curtis was completed by renowned Manchester-street artist, Akse.

The mural of Ian Curtis is based on a photograph taken by Belgian photographer, Phillipe Carly, and depicts the Joy Division frontman who died by suicide, shortly before the release of the band’s second album, Closer, and on the eve of their first North American tour.

The ticket ballot will launch on Skiddle on Monday 04th December and will remain open until Friday 02nd February 2024.