Gillian Lesley Gilbert (born 27 January 1961) is an English musician and singer, best known as the keyboardist and guitarist of the band New Order.

Early life

Gilbert's family moved from her birthplace,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, to the nearby market town of

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

when she was young. She disliked living in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

as a teenager and had wanted to live in Manchester. In the late 1970s, seeing

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine ...

play live on UK television was a life changing experience for her. "Me dad always says to us, 'You changed as soon as you saw Siouxsie and the Banshees on television'... And I really liked

Gaye Advert Gaye Advert (born 25 August 1956), also Gaye Black, is an English punk rock musician, who played bass guitar in the band The Adverts in the late 1970s. She was one of the first female rock stars of the punk rock movement, whom ''The Virgin Ency ...

out of

the Adverts The Adverts were an English punk band who formed in 1976 and broke up in late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to enjoy chart success in the UK; their 1977 single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart. ''Th ...

, who played bass, and I thought, 'Oh, there's nobody playin' guitar' - you know, women in bands." Her uncle taught her how to play guitar. She then was in a punk band with three girls, The Inadequates, who rehearsed at premises next to

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...

. In a 1987 interview with '' Option'', Gilbert reflected on the first time she became familiar with Joy Division: "We didn't have a car and us three needed a lift home. So we asked them, and they said, 'Alright, but you have to buy one of our singles.' So we did and got it home and played it on this horrible record player. We'd known Stephen before. We thought, 'My God, this sounds horrible.'" She would later begin dating Stephen Morris.

Career

After Ian Curtis's death in May 1980, the three remaining members of Joy Division renamed the band New Order. Wishing to complete their line-up with someone they knew well and whose musical skill and style was compatible with their own, New Order invited Gilbert to join the band during the early part of October 1980, as keyboardist and guitarist. She had already played with Joy Division a number of times, filling in for both Curtis and

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the po ...

playing guitar. New Order's manager

Rob Gretton Robert Leo Gretton (15 January 1953 – 15 May 1999) was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ra ...

suggested she should join. Gilbert's first live performance with them occurred at The Squat in Manchester on 25 October 1980. Her voice can be heard on several New Order tracks: the 1981 single "

Procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

"; the 1983 single "

Confusion In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. The term "acute mental confusion"

"; "Avalanche" from the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

'' on which she sang a single word, "faith"; and "

Doubts Even Here "Doubts Even Here", originally called "Tiny Tim", is the seventh track of eight on New Order's debut album ''Movement'', released on November 13, 1981. After the death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, the remaining members formed New Order with ...

" from their first album, '' Movement'', on which she provided a spoken-word background vocal. Given that fellow band members Sumner and

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings w ...

had already produced music outside New Order, Gilbert and Morris formed their own band,

The Other Two ''The Other Two'' is an American comedy television series created by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. The story follows two floundering millennial siblings who must grapple with their 13-year-old brother's overnight fame. The series premiered o ...

. They released their first single "Tasty Fish" in 1991, and recorded two albums: '' The Other Two & You'', released in 1993, and ''

Super Highways ''Super Highways'' is the second album by New Order members Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris under the name the Other Two. It was released in 1999 six years after their début, and a year after New Order reformed. Four tracks were co-written ...

'' in 1999. Gilbert and Morris were engaged in 1993, and married the following year. The couple live in

Rainow Rainow is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, in the valley of the River Dean and next to the B5470 road between Macclesfield and Kettleshulme. It straddles the eastern side of the Peak District border of Derbyshire and Cheshire, an ...

, outside Macclesfield, and have two daughters. Gilbert stopped touring with New Order in 1998 so that she could care for their children, one of whom suffers from

neuromyelitis optica Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), including neuromyelitis optica (NMO), are autoimmune diseases characterized by acute inflammation of the optic nerve ( optic neuritis, ON) and the spinal cord ( myelitis). Episodes of ON and myeli ...

. Her husband had briefly offered to care for the children, but Gilbert reasoned that it would be easier for the band to replace her than her husband. She participated in the recording of 2001's '' Get Ready'', after which she was replaced by Phil Cunningham in New Order's line-up. In 2007, Gilbert and Morris remixed two tracks for the

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

remixes album '' Year Zero Remixed''. That year she was diagnosed with breast cancer, from which she recovered. She rejoined New Order in 2011, after a 10-year absence from their albums. She performed alongside Cunningham who remained a member, expanding the group to a quintet. She is quoted as being glad that she did other things during that time. Since 2011, New Order have performed across the world. Their album ''

Music Complete ''Music Complete'' is the tenth studio album by English rock band New Order. It was released on 25 September 2015 by Mute Records, their debut on the label. The album features guest vocals from Elly Jackson of La Roux, Iggy Pop and Brandon Flow ...

'' was released in September 2015. Gilbert's vocals were featured on a Koishii & Hush remix album titled ''Lifetime''; it was released on 3 February 2016, and featured four tracks remixed by artists such as Saltmarine, Lavigne, FM Attack and Re:Locate.

Discography

;With New Order ;With The Other Two * '' The Other Two & You'' (1993) * ''

'' (1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Gillian 1961 births 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English musicians Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock keyboardists Alternative rock singers British alternative rock musicians English dance musicians English women guitarists English guitarists English new wave musicians English rock keyboardists Women new wave singers Ivor Novello Award winners Living people New Order (band) members People from Macclesfield People from Whalley Range British post-punk musicians British synth-pop new wave musicians English women in electronic music 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers