What inspired the new album?
We came back to do a few shows, but they were getting better and better. We were enjoying it as much as the audiences, so an album just seemed like the next logical thing to do.

Are you pleased with the results
you’re getting so far?
The album sounds brilliant. I’m a very modest man, if it wasn’t I’d say, “it’s ok”. But we’re in the finishing run with about another two and a half tracks to write. We’ve mixed about seven tracks so it will be finished in the spring and out by autumn, maybe September or October.

A concise number of tracks, then?
We’ve actually got about 14 or 15 tracks; the label want 10, but I have to finish all of them. I can’t not finish something, it bugs me. If I only do the 10 tracks, I know it will keep bugging me for the next 10 years.

Sonically, there have been many different eras of New Order. How does this one compare?
It’s more electronic than the last two. It’s more hard-edged, crude electronics, like old-skool New Order. There are a couple of guitar tracks on there, but it really pokes you in the eye. I think it will surprise people, too.

Who have you worked with?
Tom Rowland from The Chemical Brothers is involved on a few tracks but most of it is produced by ourselves and mixed by Craig Silvey. We’ve found it an enjoyable process even though we’ve worked on it over a long period and in different places.

What has inspired your lyrics?
I find lyrics tend to either be about love or having a moan. When you’re younger it’s all about retaliation and getting your own back. Now the songs are about having a shit day, like someone reversing into my car or trying to get an erection.

Is writing music a different process for you these days?
It always depends on the music. I write about the atmosphere that’s derived from the music. The music has always come first, before the words.

Will you preview the new music live before the album comes out?
No, we aren’t touring, because we’ve been playing live for the last three years, so this year is all about recording the album and then taking a break to refresh our batteries. But we might do something in the autumn.

How did you feel about the recent petition to turn the Macclesfield home of Ian Curtis into a museum?
I’m torn. Obviously it’s good to honour Ian but another part of me thinks it’s a bit ghoulish. To me, it’s a place of sadness.

What music are you listening to?
I’m listening to the new New Order album and I work 12 hours a day on it, start at 12 and finish at 12; at the weekend I lay there with my tongue hanging out. I get up, walk straight into the studio, get pissed around seven o’clock and when I can’t drink anymore I go to bed. Which is about midnight – it’s like the life of a student, but with money.

So this is your booze album?
I only drink at work. It’s like the opposite of being a policeman. It doesn’t make me creative, it just makes me forget myself, and that’s the essence of creativity. I drink wine these days, rosé or white. Red makes me feel thirsty and tired, like I’ve got a nine-inch nail in my head.

So can we expect an official New Order brew or a bottle of plonk, like Madness, or Tony Hadley?
Funnily enough we’ve been asked. It’s not my thing, but I’m not ruling out my own set of underwear, or fragrance.

It will be New Order’s turn to receive Lifetime Achievement awards soon. Your feelings?
I don’t mind. I got asked to give one of those at the NME Awards recently and I thought they said Slade, but it turned out to be Suede. I had to rewrite my speech – I was expecting Noddy Holder. But Suede are a really good band.

I can’t not finish something, it bugs me.

The person who confirmed it to me ended up saying "I probably shouldn't say any more". They may not want me mentioning them by name on here until nearer the release. If I were making this up though, I'd look a bit silly if a new Weatherall remix of NO didn't materialise.

Incidentally where I said it sounded like Underworld, it probably had a slightly more 'Rock' edge to it than Underworld. I'm surprised I didn't recognise Bernards vocals. Maybe they've been processed in the remix.