He and his brother Christopher were brought up by his maternal grandmother Alicia Acton (née Chapman; 1896–1968) until 1962, when his mother remarried Ernest William Hook (1914–1988).

On 4 June and 20 July 1976, childhood friends Bernard Sumner and Hook attended a Sex Pistols show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall.

[4]: 571 Their band, originally called Warsaw, debuted on 29 May 1977 at the Electric Circus, supporting Buzzcocks, Penetration and John Cooper Clarke.

[7] He has recorded one album with the band Revenge and two with Monaco (both as bassist, keyboardist and lead vocalist) with David Potts, the latter of which scored a club and alternative radio hit "What Do You Want From Me?"

He contributed a distinctive bassline to Hybrid's 2003 single "True to Form", as well as another track from their Morning Sci-Fi album, "Higher Than a Skyscraper", playing on stage with them on a number of dates of their ensuing tour.

Cargo and Suite Sixteen in Kenion Street, Rochdale were major studios in the history of punk and post-punk music.

[10] He then played and recorded a studio album, It's a Beautiful Life, with a new band project called Freebass with bass players Mani (The Stone Roses) and Andy Rourke (ex-the Smiths).

On 18 May 2010, the 30th anniversary of Ian Curtis' death, the Light performed a set of Joy Division songs including every track from Unknown Pleasures.

The first, released in April and entitled Summer '88,[13] revisited the staple sounds of the Hacienda nightclub, with the duo using a mixture of classic Roland synths and drum machines to simulate early acid house vibes.

Tokyo Joe[14] followed in December, blending Hook's trademark high range bass sound and old school punk inflected vocal chant with Murphy's classic synths, guitars and drum machines to produce an indie dance track reminiscent of classic New Order.

Hook sings "Pictures in My Mind", an unfinished Joy Division track discovered on a demo recording unearthed by the band's "bootleg society" from a rehearsal tape stolen in 1977, setting it between Warsaw and Unknown Pleasures.

The effervescent and punk-tinged tune was completed for this release, and was declared "a worthy addition to the Joy Division canon" by BBC 6Music DJ Mark Radcliffe.

[citation needed] In 2012, Hook launched a brand new master's degree programme[17] in Music Industry Management and Promotion[18] at the University of Central Lancashire.

Students will combine their academic studies with a placement in a commercial music industry institution working on real world projects.

[19] On 29 January 2013, Hook published Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division; an autobiographical account of his time in the band.

The Sound City and Hiwatt heads were both used with a Vox Foundation 1 × 18 cabinet bought from Hook's former art teacher.

[citation needed] In Michael Winterbottom's 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, which focused on Factory Records, Hook was played by Ralf Little.