Peter Hook Repeatedly Forged Ian Curtis' Autograph

If you've got late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis' autograph, there's a chance it's not genuine.

Why? Former Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook says he used to forge Curtis' signature, has conned Joy Division obsessives and collectors and those who sell memorabilia and passed his version of Curtis' signature off as the real thing.

"I did have a reputation for doing Ian Curtis' autograph for a long time," Hook told British radio station XFM.

Hook says he recently found someone who'd been duped and let him in on the secret.

"There's some guy who had [Joy Division's 1978 debut EP] An Ideal For Living and it was signed by all four members of the band and dated," he told the radio station.

"I went in and said, 'Have you not noticed that the date is after Ian died?' It was me, I did them as a joke! In very poor taste. It was up there for £200, so my name is now mud among collectors."

Hook just released a new book, The Hacienda: How Not To Run A Club, which is about Manchester, England's famed Hacienda club that had a lot to do with the city's Madchester scene in the 1980s and 1990s.

Hook's also been working on the debut album from Freebass, his all-bass supergroup that also includes ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, former Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist Mani and ex-Haven singer Gary Briggs.