It’s with good reason that Joy Division’s 1980 hit “Love Will Tear Us Apart” consistently scores highly in various rankings of the world’s greatest basslines. Now, actor and bass player Keanu Reeves has his own small chapter in the song’s immortal legacy.
Released a month after singer Ian Curtis’ suicide, the song quickly became a defining track of the post-punk sound, with NME even crowning it the greatest single ever in 2002, despite the fact that it never appeared on a studio album.
The song has been named as Reeves’ all-time favorite, and it’s a fine example of his love of highly melodic basslines. Asked to pick one desert-island song by Stephen Colbert in 2022, he chose it with little hesitation.
Fast forward to September 21, 2026, and after introducing Peter Hook & the Light onstage at a show at the Warfield in San Francisco, the English bass icon dedicated the song to the 62-year-old Canadian.
For those uninitiated, Reeves enjoyed mild success with his alt-rock power trio, Dogstar, in the early 1990s, before his acting gigs took over his life. The band reunited in 2020 and have since released two albums, in 2023 and 2026.
Dogstar’s early days were fueled by a $300 bass he bought in a Guitar Center parking lot, but Reeves recently took possession of an innovatively wired Fender Custom Shop. It shows that his ear for tone runs deep.
The actor, who is currently on tour with Dogstar, was fortunate enough to have an off day on September 21, ahead of a San Francisco show of his own the following night. That afforded him the chance to introduce one of his heroes to the stage at the Warfield.
“The one, the only Peter Hook and the Light, playing the music we all love from then, today and tomorrow,” he beamed. He then embraced Hook before retreating to a private box, where he was seen revelling in the band’s 29-song set, which concluded with that enduring Joy Division song.
Before his tour, Hook — who plays in the band alongside his bassist son, Jack Bates — sat down to discuss his legacy with Guitar Player. He’s set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this fall in recognition of his work in Joy Division and New Order, following Soundgarden, Bad Company, and Warren Zevon getting the nod last year.
Yet, when asked how he came up with so many memorable basslines over his career, he admitted that the secret is lost on him.
Comments on an Instagram post from Hook that showed “a couple of bass players hanging out in San Francisco” have suggested Reeves should be the one to induct Hook into the Hall of Fame in November. After Jim Carrey inducted Soundgarden and David Letterman did the same for the late Warren Zevon last year, it isn’t out of the question.
