New Order Are Back! (Sort Of!)

The remaining members of Eighties rock icons New Order are reforming under a different name.

Bassist and founding member Peter Hook quit the group last year announcing it had split - but his bandmates Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Phil Cunningham aren't ready to retire, and have hired Blur rocker Alex James to join them in the studio.

The new band will record and release music under the name Bad Lieutenant, Sumner says, "I'm very proud of it, it's a very good album. It's pretty guitar-y too because we've got three guitarists in the band."

When asked about Hook's departure from the group, Sumner adds, "Basically he left the band, that's all I want to say about it. We split into two factions. There's me, Steve and Phil. The other is Peter."

James is a busy man - he's currently touring and recording with British rockers Blur, who reunited earlier this year.

FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison