Primal Scream’s Mani has apologised to New Order and Joy Division’s Peter Hook several days after a spectacular Twitter rant which appeared to end their friendship and Freebass, the rather odd bass players supergroup, which Andy Rourke of The Smiths had also quit recently. In the rant he accused Hook, amongst other things, of exploiting Joy Division’s legacy with his tribute to Unknown Pleasures which tours Australia later this month.
Mani, who also once played bass for Primal Scream, has put out a statement offering a profuse apology. “I wish to apologise unreservedly to Peter Hook and his family regarding comments made on a social networking site, which was totally out of character for me. It was a venomous, spiteful reaction to a lot of things that are going on in my life right now and I chose to vent my frustrations and anger at one of my true friends in this filthy business, and ventured into territory which was none of my concern.’
Mani continued: “The Freebass thing has tipped me over the edge and became the focus of my bilious rants. Twenty-two years of being tripped up, face down in the mud and being kicked in the face with an iron boot will do that to the most stable of men. I hope I haven’t blown a great friendship forever. Sorry Pete.” Mani sees the irony in the fight, however, as he notes that the Freebass album is out next week and people will be wanting to listen to it as a result.
Meanwhile Hooky is playing the forgiveness card, saying: “Mani is a great friend of mine and he always will be. I have the utmost respect for him as a person and musician. Have none of you ever fallen out with somebody you love?”
