Joy Division / New Order Star Shrugs Off Disney Pirates

Peter Hook reacted magnanimously to the news that Disney launched Mickey Mouse T shirts styled with the artwork of Joy Division's 1979 album Unknown Pleasures, telling Los Angeles Times ‘I take it as a compliment’.

"I'm amazed they're that hard-up that they need to prey on little indie bands,” he continued, (but) “If I had a pound for every time someone bootlegged Joy Division, I'd be as rich as Disney.”

Former band-mate Stephen Morris was less understanding, telling the Manchester Evening News he was ‘quite angry when I first saw it’.

“They're trading off the band and our album cover, but get away with it by apparently saying the design was 'inspired' by us,” he complained.

"I don't like the design at all. It's horrible. I can't imagine any Joy Division fans wearing it. Or anyone for that matter. Clearly, no-one investigated the history of the band before coming up with this idea. It's bizarre,” said Stephen.

Hooky’s stance matched that of key punk artist Jamie Reid, who chatting to Skrufff some years ago said he fully approved of all the counterfeit Sex Pistols gear that continues to sell in street markets around the world.

“Bootlegging is a form of Independence. It will always be the case, I’ve never known it not to exist,” he declared,

“The Sex Pistols must be one of the most bootlegged bands in history and I feel it’s to do with the closeness of the music and art. After all, the band was managed by an artist, Malcolm McClaren.”

Disney subsequently stopped selling the T shirts, at least temporarily, after a deluge of complaints.

"As soon as we became aware there could be an issue, we pulled it from our shelves and our online store to review the situation further",” a Disney spokesperson confirmed.