New Order‘s Gillian Gilbert has told fans that she is living with cancer, rather than her husband Stephen Morris, as recent reports had suggested.
Morris was the drummer in Joy Division alongside Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Ian Curtis, and the remaining members formed New Order after Curtis’ death in 1980. In June, the Manchester band confirmed that both Morris and Gilbert would not be touring with them in the “foreseeable future” due to “personal health reasons”.
Ahead of New Order and Joy Division being inducted together into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame earlier this year, Morris had told Rolling Stone: “I’ve got a bit of a health problem at the minute, which precludes leaving the country for any length of time.”
When asked if he might return to the band at some point, he went on to say: “I don’t know. I really don’t want to dwell on what this illness is, but it’s pretty serious. It’s not something that someone’s going to come up with a cure for.”
Now, Gilbert has thanked fans for their well-wishes following the interview, clarifying that she was in fact battling the illness. “I would like to gently clarify a misunderstanding from the interview, in the course of which comments were misinterpreted leading people to believe that Stephen is seriously ill,” she wrote today (Tuesday September 15).
“Thankfully, he is well. It is in fact me, who like many other people, is living with cancer.
We completely understand how the misunderstanding arose and simply wanted to ensure that the correct information was shared.
“We are enormously grateful for everyone’s kindness and support and would appreciate some privacy as I continue with my treatment.”
Morris and Gilbert have also released music together outside New Order as The Other Two. Their debut album, ‘The Other Two & You’, arrived in 1993, followed by ‘Super Highways’ in 1999.
Speaking to NME about the inspiration of New Order’s seminal second album ‘Power, Corruption & Lies‘ back in 2020, Kelly Lee Owens told NME that she wanted to see more recognition for Gilbert’s trailblazing.
“Having Gillian as part of New Order’s line-up in the ’80s and ’90s was iconic,” Owens said. “She was just up there doing her thing, and she looked so cool. She needs to be celebrated as the synth queen she is.”
Responding to Owens’ comments, Gilbert went on to tell NME: “It’s weird – you never think of your work as part of history or influencing people. It was weird when I joined because nobody expected a girl to be brought into the band. They expected another singer.
“It got better in the ‘90s, but going to Japan in the ‘80s for a photo shoot was a real shock because they didn’t want to talk to me. They’d say to the male members, ’Can you tell her to move?’ That was how they treated women in them days. I was just there in the background a lot of the time.”
“It always felt like you were doing special because not many women were playing keyboards or any instruments. If anyone saw a band like us, it might make them do something.”
As for New Order will be playing shows in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia later this year. You can find more information here.
However, he has also joked that Oasis could potentially stage peace talks between the estranged bandmates, saying: “Maybe Liam and Noel could be the intermediaries that you’re looking for. They might be like, ‘OK, you two. Let’s shake hands and get up there and play ‘Transmission,’ ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart,’ and ‘Blue Monday’.’”
Earlier this year, New Order released ‘The Best & The Rest Of New Order’, a remastered collection featuring classic singles alongside rare and previously unreleased remixes.
Joy Division also recently announced ‘Eternal’, a huge new live recordings box set featuring 14 CDs and two DVDs. The set, due out on September 30, collects live material from the band’s short but hugely influential career.