IT is surely no coincidence that New Order’s first new studio recordings in a decade returned to the classic synth dance music which defined their 1980s heyday.
Last year’s Music Complete also marked the return of keyboardist Gillian Gilbert to the studio after she rejoined their ranks to tour in 2011.
Before that record, and in her absence, New Order had sounded far more guitar-driven.
“Oh god, yes, it was all me,” she says, laughing heartily.
“I think it’s just a happy coincidence but yes, I would rather do electronic music.”
The album sessions — and rehearsals for their upcoming concerts for the Vivid Live winter festival in Sydney — took place in the “barn” at the home Gilbert and her husband, New Order drummer Stephen Morris have shared for more than two decades.
Their farm just outside of Macclesfield has been a retreat from the road, a creative space and home to the family which includes daughters Tilly and Grace.
Gilbert left the band 15 years ago as they began recording the 2001 album Get Ready. She knew they would follow its release with a tour and the thought of dragging toddlers around the world horrified her.
New Order are back and here in Sydney for Vivid Live this year.Source:Supplied
Grace was also diagnosed with a neurological disorder Transverse Myelitis, a frightening, rare disease which can paralyse its victims.
“I will never doubt my reason for leaving the band when I did. I think I was very lucky in a way that I was getting paid (via royalties) and having time off,” she says.
“I knew during the recording of Get Ready that we were going to tour and part of me didn’t want to do that even though I loved being in New Order. I didn’t want to leave my kids at home with a nanny and I remember Hooky (former bassist Peter Hook) saying ‘Never mind love, you can get a tutor on tour’.
“Kids love being at home; I remember taking them to video shoots when they were two or three and they screamed the place down.”
Navigating a marriage as musicians became “slightly better” when New Order enjoyed a hiatus, first in the 1990s and then another one in the mid 2000s.
She said the current line-up of New Order, which features founding member and frontman Bernard Sumner, Phil Cunningham who took over from her in 2001 and Tom Chapman who replaced Hook after his acrimonious departure, is a happier entity.
New Order have returned to their dance sound. Picture: Nick WilsonSource:Supplied
“I think with this new line-up, in a way I am treated as a separate person from Stephen because I had the break. And now I know what I want and it’s easier to talk about it,” she says.
Gilbert was a founding member of New Order, invited to join Sumner, Hook and Morris when their band Joy Division dissolved in the wake of the suicide of its frontman Ian Curtis.
Yet there were some in the famed Factory Records and nightclub scene in Manchester who would dismiss her contributions or opinions.
“It sounds bad now but a lot of men didn’t take much notice of the women. What would they know?” she says.
“The men could have the band and children because they had a wife at home to take care of all of that.
“I was trying to make everybody happy and you can’t.
“It’s much better now, we talk about everything and everything is very jolly. We have even had a hug or two after a gig! We’ve gelled as a little group and people have accepted it even though we had no idea how they would without Hooky.”
Early days ... New Order out of Joy Division. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied
Going solo ... Original bassist Peter Hook left the band almost a decade ago. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied
Gilbert and her bandmates are also energised by the prospect of New Order performing with an orchestra for the first time in their career.
As well as playing two shows on their own for Vivid, they will also join with the Australian Chamber Orchestra for another two Concert Hall productions.
“I think we are only going to have three hours rehearsal with the strings when we get there,” Gilbert says.
“I’m not classically trained at all, I just play as I can really. I don’t think I have even been to a classical concert but I cannot wait to hear us do one.”
How long this latest New Order reunion lasts is still up in the air.
Gilbert says she is “right up until Christmas” and then she will see.
If the music sirens don’t keep calling her, she will indulge her love of dog training.
“I have got a little dog I do obedience and agility training with and I would love a house full of dogs if I wasn’t in the band. I would be a dog woman.”
- New Order play the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. June 1, 2, 4 & 5.
