Joy Division and New Order were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night, honoring a shared lineage that reshaped post-punk, alternative rock, and electronic music.
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor welcomed the bands into the Hall at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, paying tribute to the group’s transformation from the stark, haunted sound of Joy Division into the synth-driven heartbeat of New Order. A fitting choice for the honor, as Nine Inch Nails are among the countless artists shaped by that evolution, carrying the bands’ fascination with atmosphere, electronics, and unease into a darker industrial age. In his speech, Reznor lauded Joy Division and New Orer as “”two of the most influential groups of the last 50 years,” adding that, “There are only two types of people in this world,” Reznor declared, “those who already know just how influential Joy Division and New Order are, and those yet to realize how their favorite bands, such as U2, Radiohead, the Cure, the Killers, Nirvana, Depeche Mode, how different they would sound if Joy Division and New Order had never existed.”
The honor recognizes Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert. Joy Division formed in Manchester in the late 1970s, pairing Curtis’ austere songwriting and haunting baritone with Hook’s melodic bass, Morris’ drumming, and Sumner’s guitar. Their brief run produced Unknown Pleasures and Closer before Curtis took his life in 1980, just days before the band was scheduled to begin its first US tour.
Rather than continue under the same name, Sumner, Hook, and Morris regrouped as New Order, soon adding Gilbert on keyboards and guitar. The new band carried pieces of Joy Division forward while embracing the future through synthesizers, drum machines, and dance music, producing songs like “Blue Monday,” “Bizarre Love Triangle,” and “True Faith.”
The induction arrives amid the long-running conflict between Hook and his former New Order bandmates. Hook left the group in 2007, and the two sides later became embroiled in a legal dispute
Peter Hook was the sole representative for Joy Division’s and New Order’s induction, joining Deftones and CHVRCHES singer Lauren Mayberry to perform “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Bizarre Love Triangle” and then giving a speech in which he thanks the fans but made no mention of his former bandmates.
“I’m on my own, but I’m not alone,” he said. “I want to thank the fans for all their wonderful and priceless efforts in making this happen and putting me here tonight. This award is for them.”
“For me, it’s been a wild 50 years. I’ve been happy, I’ve been mad, I’ve been heartbroken in equal measures, but I’m still fucking here,” he later added. “Music is eternal, fans are eternal, and we are eternally grateful.”
The 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was taped November 14th at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will air on ABC and Disney+ in December.
