New Order and Joy Division's story is being told on the new podcast series 'Transmissions: The Definitive Story'.
Kicking off on October 29, the eight-parter will feature insight from band members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert and Peter Hook, and will be narrated by actress Maxine Peake.
On the first episode, listeners will get to hear the full story of the journey of Joy Division up until 1983’s 'Blue Monday' by New Order - the band formed by the aforementioned musicians in 1980 after lead singer Ian Curtis died of suicide.
Throughout the series, there will be special guest appearances from the likes of Bono, Liam Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Pet Shop Boys, Johnny Marr and many more.
Guitarist Sumner said: “Nothing would’ve stopped us - nothing did stop us, did it? Ian’s death didn’t stop us, Martin’s death didn’t stop us, getting all the equipment stolen didn’t stop us … There was nothing to go back to. There was no plan B.”
Bassist Hook added: “To be in one band with such a distinct identity is pretty bloody lucky but then to get into two bands was amazing!"
The podcast announcement comes after New Order released their first new music in five years, the uplifting synth-pop anthem, 'Be A Rebel'.
The track marked their first new material since the acclaimed 2015 LP, 'Music Complete'.
The single was originally set to be released before the band's tour, which has been rescheduled for 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they wanted to give fans something to enjoy in the meantime.
Sumner said: "In tough times we wanted to reach out with a new song. We can't play live for a while, but music is still something we can all share together. We hope you enjoy it ... until we meet again."
Drummer Morris recently hinted that there could be more New Order tunes on the way in the future, but for the time being 'Be A Rebel' is a "one-off".
The sticksman said: "It's been a bit strange making a record via remote control, with the song getting batted about backwards and forwards, but hopefully it's turned out alright!
"It's just a one-off at the minute. We thought we'd start with one and then see how it goes."
‘Transmissions: The Definitive Story' podcast is available to listen to on October 29 via Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, Stitcher.
Tagged in Joy Division Peter Hook New Order