Hooky's leading man

Haven's singer for Freebass

19 Feb 08 - Peter Hook has revealed the new vocalist for his project Freebass, which he formed with Andy Rourke and Primal Scream's Mani, is the vocalist from Haven.

Talking about newcomer Gary Briggs, he said:

“We have had trouble getting it together and I have had a lot of trouble finding a vocalist and we now have another one.

“This is about our 15th one, he used to be in a band called Haven.”

Musician friends lend support

Hook also talked about who else has worked on the project:

“We have had a lot of friends that have helped us which is what has got people’s interest really.

“We have got Ian Brown doing one this week, we persuaded Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins.

“We have got Rowetta….Tim Burgess done one. Howard Marks is doing a rap on one."

"I have had a lot of trouble finding a vocalist ... This is about our 15th one.”
Peter Hook

On why they started Freebass in the first place, Peter said:

“We started it funnily enough, Mani and I, as a reaction because our groups New Order and Primals had been stalled.

“..and then miraculously our groups started up again so it went on the back burner for a long time…. I think the music is fantastic.”

Freebass works, 'surprisingly'

Talking about how Freebass works, he said:

“Rourkie plays guitar a lot, Mani and I balance each other out. He plays low and I play high. It actually works quite well.

“It worked a lot better than I thought it would once I had sobered up! Quite surprising.”

Haven formed in Manchester but originally came from Cornwall.

They were discovered by Johnny Marr and their debut album, Between the Senses, was released in 2002. Their follow up, All for a Reason, came out in 2004.

Kelly Stooke