Peter Hook has paid tribute to the late Florian Schneider and revealed Joy Division and New Order were "very tied" to Kraftwerk.
Peter Hook
The 64-year-old musician - who co-founded the legendary rock groups - was devastated by the news that the pioneering electronic music group's co-founder had sadly lost his battle with cancer, at the age of 73, last week.
And he's revealed how he and his ex-bandmates Bernard Sumner and the late Ian Curtis are forever indebted to Florian and Kraftwerk, who they tried to "rip" off, but could never "replicate".
In an interview with NME.com, Peter said: "I was so sad to hear of Florian Schneider's death.
"My earliest memory of Kraftwerk was being given an LP by Ian Curtis.
"He gave me 'Autobahn' and then later 'Trans Europe Express'.
"I was absolutely mesmerised by both.
"Ian suggested that every time Joy Division go on stage, we should do so to 'Trans Europe Express'. We did that from our first show, until nearly our last.
"Ian's musical education was fantastic. He taught us about everything from The Doors to Can.
"He put these artists in front of Barney [Sumner, bandmate] and I and they became so important to us.
"Joy Division were very tied to Kraftwerk, but it wasn't until we got to New Order and were able to afford the toys that our primary source of inspiration became, 'Let's rip off Kraftwerk'. Their music was beguilingly simple, but impossible to replicate."
Peter recalled one of their gigs in Manchester and hailed Kraftwerk - who formed in 1970 as a project between Florian and Ralf Hütter - as a band way before their time and shared how New Order were inspired to us a quadraphonic P.A after seeing the Dusseldorf outfit use one.
He continued: "They were streets ahead of anybody else, even from an electronic point of view.
"They were making their own sequencers years before anyone else.
"I remember seeing them at Manchester's Free Trade Hall on the tour where they didn't appear on stage.
"It was amazing to sit in a sold-out venue, watching four mannequins and have them get away with it because the music was so wonderful.
"They had a quadraphonic P.A. in the Free Trade Hall, and that was something else that we ripped off in New Order as soon as we were able."
Peter revealed he and Bernard missed out on the opportunity to meet Florian at a festival in 2006.
The British star recalled how his bandmate was extremely drunk and was asked to leave their dressing room.
He remembered: "I've never met them. The last gig they played with Florian was at a festival in Spain in 2006, and we were playing too (as was Snoop Dogg). "Barney was a little worse for wear, shall we say.
"He was very merry indeed and desperate to go and talk to Kraftwerk.
"My wife always tells me off for passing up the opportunity, but he went into their dressing room and was so f***ing off his head that they asked him to leave! In a funny way, it's probably for the best I didn't go."
If he had gotten to talk to Florian, Peter admitted he would've been speechless.
The 'Transmission' star added: "We were in the same hotel as Kraftwerk. I remember being in the queue to check in and looking at Florian Schneider and the way he was dressed in this futuristic nylon suit. I was thinking, 'You're off duty, mate, and taking it too far'.
"But I didn't speak. I wouldn't have known what to say to someone who has inspired me so much.
"It's the saddest thing in the world that he'd died."
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