New Order's Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris have said they will continue without bass player Peter Hook.
Hook recently announced on a radio station that the legendary Manchester band had split up, but Sumner and Morris said they were surprised.
"We would have hoped he could have approached us personally first," the duo said in a statement.
"New Order have not split up," they added. The band are known for hits including Blue Monday and Regret.
"Whatever happens musically or otherwise, New Order have not split up, they continue to exist," the statement continued.
Hook told Xfm in May that the band had broken up.
He said he and frontman Sumner had gone their separate ways and were no longer working together.
Hook was a founding member of Joy Division, who became New Order following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis.
The band's most recent studio album, Waiting For The Sirens' Call, was released in April 2005.
Hook added on his MySpace page: "I'm relieved, really, hated carrying on as normal with an awful secret so let's move on, shall we?"
But a New Order spokeswoman said it was "probably just Hooky messing about. Everyone knows what he's like".
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~14~RS~)