Normally Peter Hook gets a 12 out of 10 for chirpiness, but today there’s a Peanuts-style black cloud over the legendary Mancunian bass-slinger’s head as he paces around backstage at the Chester Literary Festival.

“It’s sad, really,” the well-preserved 60-year-old reflects. “You write a 752-page book detailing 40-years of your life, and all people want to talk about is this one chapter that’s a tiny part of the overall story. To be honest, the controversy and having to constantly defend myself, has sucked the joy out of it.”

The book in question is Hooky’s Substance: Inside New Order, and the chapter the one in which he accuses the deceased Caroline Aherne of being physically abusive during their three-year marriage.