Originally Posted by: komakino Three scenarios are possible:
1. Hook gets paid a satisfactory amount to no longer be part of the legal entity that is 'New Order' - Most Likely
2. Hook gets paid a percentage for the next album - Less Likely
3. Hook loses case completely and gets nothing - Unlikely, but possible.
It's weird that we have situation where both parties are right in a way and both legal teams will fight that. Hook will state that New Order cannot be a legs entity as he is not a part of it. 'New Order's' counsel will state that Hook decided to leave voluntarily and that was his call. The other members want to carry on.
The nearest I can think to this is Pink Floyd, and Roger Waters lost. You shouldn't have a situation where because one member of the band leaves, it cannot carry on with the same name - otherwise bands names would be changing all the time! Yet the nuts and bolts of the legal side is more complex and it sounds if New Order may have set them up for a difficult negotiation with a flawed legal agreement.
I do miss the tension in New Order and that was part of it's special nature. Bands that get on very well, tend to make dull music, bar the odd exception.
The old agreement was that the band would change name if a member left, but that was forgotten around 2000 when Gillian had to look after her daughter. The issue with that - that Hook calls them "Fraud Order" - to me, is that he never had any problems with the band using the New Order when Gillian left, only when he left. And as far as I know, Hook made the decision to leave and was not fired. Therefore he voluntarily chose to give up involvement in the band, and thought the band was over just because he left. As I understood it, Bad Lieutenant existed (and not New Order in 2007-2011) mostly due to Gillian's illness and Mr Morris quite rightly looking after her during that time.
It is 100% a rerun of the Pink Floyd departure. However, Roger Waters took until The Floyd were defunct for 12 years before he took upon touring the old Floyd albums all over the world.
BS says in the NME interview that Hook gets paid for use of the New Order name, alongside the fact that he is credited as a writer on every single New Order track, and thus, must get royalties for every time they, he, or Kylie play a New Order or Joy Division song live or on record, even if it is only 3p* a time.
(*a guess)
Hook has said he is an oppressed minority which isn't strictly accurate, as he has chosen to leave the group and is not an active participant member in NewOrder as is, as he left in 2007. As for what happened before then I don't know. I'm fairly sure, if common sense prevails, they will do the same as Pink Floyd, and reach an agreement before it gets to court. I can't see it likely Hook will play will the rest of the band ever again, so it's more a case of agreeing the terms of seperation, Hook getting royalties for previous New Order record sales and writing etc., and letting them all continue to follow their seperate paths.
Sadly, solicitors get paid a fair whack by the hour, and will often not suggest a quick and easy pre-court agreement when there's a tasty court case between musicians they can charge £250 an hour for.