On a new episode of The Current's Morning Show, host Jill Riley caught up with New Order's Bernard Sumner, who is currently recovering from COVID-19 at home in England. "I'm ok," Bernard said, "my voice is a little bit gruff, but I was one of the lucky ones, I didn't get it too bad."
"It seems like Russian roulette," he continued. "Like, you can get light symptoms, like me, or it can kill you. It's crazy." He explained that his experience with the virus like that of many: he felt "like something was having a go at [his] system," as symptoms, including fatigue and loss of smell, would go and then return, stronger each time. Still, he says it mostly felt like a "really bad hangover."
Bernard also spoke about New Order's most recent single, "Be a Rebel," their first in five years, and about releasing an upbeat track during such a jarring time. "I think it's quite a positive song as well, so, it's nice to come out with a positive message, you know?," Bernard said. "And it's unusual for me to write a positive song! An accident, a fluke, a freak of nature that I ended up writing a positive song! But it's quite up, and it's very optimistic and interesting, and I really like the song."
He also explained that when he sent the track to his bandmates for notes, they never responded, so he went ahead and did all the producing and engineering he could on his own, at home. "No news is good news," he said, noting that, with the current circumstance considered, it's been difficult to be a band and to work together with limitations on in-person rehearsals and meetings.
You can watch the full episode and listen in on the full conversation below.
Meanwhile the new episode of the Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division & New Order podcast premiered today and this one delves into New Order's former label, Factory Records. Maxine Peake narrates and the podcast features the whole band, plus interviews with such folks as Damon Albarn, Bono, Radiohead's Johnny and Colin Greenwood, Liam Gallagher, and others. You can listen to the new episode below.
