Bernard Sumner

Sumner was born on 4 January 1956 in Broughton, Salford, Lancashire, England. He has also used the surnames Dicken (similar to his stepfathers name Dickin) and Albrecht.^[4][5]

Sumner was educated at Salford Grammar School, before joining a company who did cartoon animations for television.^[6]

 

Sumner was a founding member of Joy Division, formed at Salford in 1976. He and childhood friend Peter Hook both attended the fabled Sex Pistols concert at Manchester's Free Trade Hall on 4 June 1976 and whose music inspired them to perform together.^[7] Widely considered one of the most influential bands of the era, Sumner was lead guitarist (his main guitars were a Gibson SG and a custom Shergold Masquerader),^[8][9] as well as playing electronic keyboards^[10] and made his first vocal appearance on record singing the chorus of "Walked in Line" on the Warsaw album.^[11] In May 1980, after the suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis, Joy Division disbanded.^[12]

Sumner and remaining band members Peter Hook and Stephen Morris started a new band named New Order, joined by keyboardist Gillian Gilbert in October 1980.^[13] Though Hook, Morris and Gilbert also contributed vocals on some early tracks, Sumner emerged as the band's permanent singer and lyricist, alongside playing guitar and keyboards. Through a series of splits and reformations, the band has released ten studio albums. Sumner and Morris are the only members to be part of every lineup.

In 1989, Sumner joined up with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to form Electronic. The Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant collaborated on two tracks on their debut eponymous album, providing vocals. Sumner was their singer, guitarist, keyboardist and lyricist. Electronic released two other albums until a quiet disband in 2001 for Sumner to focus his efforts on New Order. Sumner occasionally appears to sing Electronic songs at Marr's concerts.

Bad Lieutenant included fellow New Order member Phil Cunningham and Jake Evans of Rambo & Leroy. Stephen Morris of New Order and Blur bassist Alex James also performed on the band's debut album. Sumner provided vocals, guitar and lyrics. Bad Lieutenant disbanded after New Order reformed in 2011.

In 1981, Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls released their last single "Searching for Heaven", which included a guitar solo by Sumner, although he was not credited in the sleeves of its 7" and 10" edition at the time.^[14][15] In 1983, Sumner co-produced, with Donald Johnson, the single "The Great Divide"/"Love in a Strange Place" by the band Foreign Press. Foreign Press (aka Emergency) had had a long history with Sumner through both Joy Division and New Order.

In 1990, he worked with former Factory Records label mates A Certain Ratio, remixing their song "Won't Stop Loving You". He has also recorded tracks with fellow Mancunians 808 State and Sub Sub.^{[citation needed]} Sumner appeared as guest singer and guitarist (alongside Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie) on The Chemical Brothers' 1999 album Surrender, on the track "Out of Control"; and in a 2005 Chemical Brothers show at the Brixton Academy, Sumner appeared live onstage as a special guest on this track. He has also lent vocals and guitar to a track ("Miracle Cure") on German trance outfit Blank & Jones 2008 release, "The Logic of Pleasure". Sumner also appeared on the Primal Scream track "Shoot Speed Kill Light" from their 2000 album XTRMNTR.

He has produced several remixes for tracks such as Technotronic's "Rockin' Over the Beat" (which was featured in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III soundtrack) and served as a record producer and/or songwriter for other Factory Records acts including Happy Mondays (whose second single, "Freaky Dancin'," he produced in 1986), Shark Vegas, Abecedarians, 52nd Street and Section 25.

Sumner married Sue Barlow on 28 October 1978; they had a son, James (born 1983), before divorcing in 1989. Sumner currently lives with his second wife, Sarah Dalton, and their three children, Dylan (born 1992), Tess (born 1994) and Finley (born 2003).^[6]

Sumner was portrayed by John Simm in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People and James Anthony Pearson in the 2007 film Control.

• Unknown Pleasures (1979)
• Closer (1980)

• Movement (1981)
• Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)
• Low-Life (1985)
• Brotherhood (1986)
• Technique (1989)
• Republic (1993)
• Get Ready (2001)
• Waiting for the Sirens' Call (2005)
• Lost Sirens (2013)
• Music Complete (2015)

• Electronic (1991)
• Raise the Pressure (1996)
• Twisted Tenderness (1999)

• Never Cry Another Tear (2009)

• Section 25 – "Sakura" (keyboards, 1982)
• 52nd Street – "Look into My Eyes" (synthesizer, production, 1982)
• Section 25 – "Back To Wonder" / "Beating Heart" (production, 1983)
• Quando Quango – "Love Tempo" (production, 1983)
• The Durutti Column – "I Get Along Without You Very Well" / "Prayer" (production, 1983)
• A Certain Ratio – "I Need Someone Tonite" (synthesizer, 1983)
• 52nd Street – "Cool As Ice" / "Twice As Nice" (synthesizer, production, 1983)
• Paul Haig – "The Only Truth" (guitar, production, 1984)
• Marcel King – "Reach For Love" / "Keep On Dancing" (synthesizer, production, 1984)
• Quando Quango – "2 From Quando" (production, 1984)
• Section 25 – From The Hip (composer^[A], production, 1984)
• Section 25 – "Looking From A Hilltop (Restructure)" (synthesizer, production, 1984)
• Section 25 – "Crazy Wisdom" (production, 1985)
• Shark Vegas – "You Hurt Me" (guitar, production, 1985)
• Paul Haig – "Love and War" (guitar, 1986)
• Section 25 – "Bad News Week" (production, 1987)
• A Certain Ratio – "Good Together" (backing vocals, 1989)
• Technotronic - "Rockin' Over the Beat" (synthesizer, production, 1989)
• The Beat Club – "Security (Remix)" (vocals, production, 1990)
• Banderas – "This Is Your Life" (backing vocals, guitar, 1991)
• 808 State – "Spanish Heart" (vocals, 1991)
• Sub Sub – "This Time I'm Not Wrong" (vocals, guitar, 1997)
• The Chemical Brothers – "Out of Control" (vocals, guitar, 1999)
• Primal Scream – "Shoot Speed Kill Light" (guitar, 2000)
• Gwen Stefani – "The Real Thing" (backing vocals, 2004)
• Blank & Jones – "Miracle Cure" (vocals, guitar, 2008)

• Curtis, Deborah (1995). Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division. London: Faber. ISBN 0-5711-7445-0.
• Bernard Sumner: Confusion – Joy Division, Electronic and New Order Versus the World, David Nolan, 2007
• Chapter and Verse – New Order, Joy Division and Me, Bernard Sumner, 2014

• Curtis, Deborah (1995). Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division. London: Faber. ISBN 0-5711-7445-0.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bernard Sumner.

• Bernard Sumner at AllMusic
• Bernard Sumner discography at Discogs  
• Bernard Sumner at IMDb
• New Order Online – semi-official website, endorsed by the band