New Order star Peter Hook has defended his decision to write about his tumultuous marriage to Caroline Aherne in his explosive new autobiography - and says he hopes it helps victims of abuse.
Bassist Hooky reveals in his book, Substance, that he became an “abused husband” during his rocky three year relationship with Mrs Merton star Caroline in the 1990s, claiming she attacked him during jealous rages.
Caroline died in July aged 52 after a third battle with cancer - and many have questioned his decision to speak out about their relationship now, in his third book which covers the 30 year period of his life in the band New Order.
But Hooky says: “I’ve always been very honest in every book, and it is the same thing here.
“If you’re going to tell the truth, you have to tell the truth about everything. You can’t just pick and choose, you talk about every important part of your life. It’s the story of my life.
“I’ve been a successful musician for 40 years, and that [relationship] was a small part of my life, it is 15 pages in a 700-odd page book.
“I didn’t play it up, I thought I handled it very fairly considering what it did to me. I’ve told the truth, and if you’re going to be damned for telling the truth then so be it.”
Hooky said he hoped that talking openly about the abuse would help others.
He said: “What I was trying to show is that there is life after abuse, you hope you can be an inspiration to people that you don’t have to suffer in silence, and that you can move on from it.
“I moved on with the help of many great friends and meeting Becky [his wife of 20 years].
“What we should be celebrating is my 20 year successful marriage which shows what can be achieved when two people love each other and respect each other.”
Hooky admits it was “disappointing” to see the angry reaction of Caroline’s family and friends to his claims, including her Royle Family co-star Ricky Tomlinson who said Hooky was wrong to write about the marriage in his book.
He says wryly: “I never thought I’d be fighting with Ricky Tomlinson about this. For people to turn around and say that I’m “less of a man” for talking about it, they are perpetuating that stigma against male victims of abuse.
“Would I ring Ricky Tomlinson up and tell him how to write the book of his life? Of course not.”
Hooky headed to talk about his book and music career at a public event with Inspiral Carpets star Clint Boon on Monday night, and will be back at Salford Lads Club on Saturday night with another in conversation event with the M.E.N’s Dianne Bourne.
The book is an encyclopedic account of Hook’s music career and associations with Factory Records and the Hacienda, and the band New Order.
He charts the band’s transition from Joy Division after the tragic death of lead singer Ian Curtis in 1980 into New Order; the band’s rise to global success and the rock ‘n’ roll excesses along the way in eye-popping detail.
And Hooky hasn’t ruled out another book in the future - this one ends in 2007 when he split from his former bandmates Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris.
Hooky says: “What struck me is that none of my books has a happy ending, I’d love to do one with a happy ending. One where New Order aren’t at each other’s throats and me and Bernard go off holding hands together.”
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