New Order drummer Stephen Morris has revealed that his future with the band is uncertain, as he is dealing with a “pretty serious” illness. The British musician, 68, was speaking ahead of New Order and Joy Division’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. New Order was formed by surviving Joy Division members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Morris in the wake of Ian Curtis’s death in 1980.
While the band’s relationship with Hook is still fraught due to a royalties row with Sumner in 2011, Hook will make an appearance at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Since the band’s most recent reunion, the lineup has focused on Sumner, Morris and New Order guitarist Gillian Gilbert, who is married to Morris. However, both Gilbert and Morris announced in June that they were stepping back from playing live with New Order “for the foreseeable future”.
Morris explained in an interview with Rolling Stone he’s got “a bit of a health problem at the minute”, which prevents him from leaving the country for a lengthy period of time. He also believes he will be unable to attend the Rock Hall of Fame induction in November. If this goes all right, it might be worth thinking…’ Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial.
This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. So maybe not, maybe, but I can’t really say things will get better, because they won’t.” Asked if he might return to the band at some point in the future, Morris responded: “I don’t know. I really don’t want to dwell on what this illness is, but it’s pretty serious.
It’s not something that someone’s going to come up with a cure for.” New Order and Joy Division are being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Oasis, Wu-Tang Clan, Phil Collins, Iron Maiden, Billy Idol and Sade. Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after their first commercial recording. This year’s honourees were selected by a vote of over 1,200 artists, historians, and music industry professionals.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for 14 November at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, with a television broadcast set for December on ABC and Disney+. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Extract — continue reading at the source.
