This book is about Bernard Sumner's life and times, from the back streets of Salford to the international fame and critical acclaim of Joy Division, New Order and Electronic. Jolted into action by the punk explosion of 1976, Sumner is the man who stepped into the shoes of Ian Curtis after his suicide in 1980 and steered New Order to even greater success, helping to create Acid House, the second Summer of Love and The Hacienda nightclub in Manchester, the most famous club in the world and a magnet for the city's gun and drug culture. His collaborations with The Smiths' Johnny Marr created Electronic, the first true post-punk supergroup. But Sumner's past, even his real name, has always remained a mystery...until now. In a work of rare investigative depth, Nolan re-writes the history of one of music's most influential figures, and in the process nullifies many myths, with exhaustive primary source research, dozens of exclusive interviews and scores of previously unseen photos.
