It's like when you go home for Christmas. You haven't seen your mam for a year. You think, Great, there'll be no arguments, no fighting. But within five minutes it's back to exactly like it was before. But you don't come back and go, ( playground whine ) "My band's done better than yours." Unless you've had a few pints of course.

Why are you back together? It can't be the money.

We just missed playing the songs, really. It was so acrimonious when we finished, we weren't getting on and it had to end, but within a week I felt sort of orphaned. Everything looks so attractive when you lost it, a bit like ex-girlfriends. Also my wonderful new wife Rebecca never saw New Order, because we only met two years ago. And there's me kids... though they'll probably want to go and see Space instead.

New Order have quite a festival history...

The first Glastonbury we did, in 1987, I'd never seen anything like it in my life. The atmosphere was incredible. That whole vibe we have now - festivals being a kind of religion - Michael Eavis invented it on that night. And Reading in 1994 - 75,000 people singing along at your last gig. That was sad, but lovely too.

What's the weirdest festival you've ever played?

A Finnish one, attended by 125,000 people. Lou Reed demanded each one of them got searched and demanded a bullet-proof vest because he was convinced there was a sniper in the trees. We were young enough to worry he might be right.

Are you too old now to really enjoy festivals?

I don't go now unless I have a backstage pass, a deckchair and a waiter. But my greatest delight with festivals is going for a pork butty at the hog roast stall.

You're playing some Joy Division songs at Phoenix. Would Joy Division ever have played a festival?

We used to enjoy playing live, the four of us, I don't see why not. We were a tight band you know.

Will they play Decades? Will they play Fine Time? Love Vigilantes?

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