New Order bassist calls for home town to be “ruined in a day”.
Joy Division and New Order bass player Peter Hook kick-started the demolition of a tower block he once described as a ‘concrete wasteland.’
“Hooky” was raised in Pendleton, Salford, and was invited back to begin the first step in a £650 million regeneration.
He famously described the area as ‘rotten and horrible, like a concrete wasteland’. Those same words were written on the Orchards tower blocks in Pendleton before Peter took the first swipe at the buildings, ahead of their demolition this week.
The piece of wall, inscribed with the musician’s quote, will now become part of a community art project. Peter Hook said: “I spent most of my young life round here and I know a lot about its history. “I never thought I’d get to see these tower blocks go up and then come back down again. To see it being redeveloped is just fantastic. A lot of people in Salford thought that they got it wrong the first time around, so if it’s made right this time then that’ll just be the best thing ever for the community here.”
The tower blocks, made up of Peach, Pear and Apple Tree Court, were built during the 1960s as part of the Hanky Park slum clearance project.
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