Stephen Richard "Steve" Hackett is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He gained
prominence as lead guitarist of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined
in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career. Hackett contributed to six Genesis
studio albums, three live albums and seven singles.
In 1986, Hackett co-founded the supergroup GTR with another progressive guitarist, Steve
Howe of Yes and Asia. The group released a self-titled album that year, which peaked
at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and spawned the Top 20 single "When
the Heart Rules the Mind". When Hackett left GTR in 1987, the group disbanded.
After leaving GTR, Hackett resumed his solo career and has released albums and toured
on a regular basis since. His body of work encompasses many styles, including progressive
rock, world music, and classical. His playing has influenced guitarists such as Eddie Van
Halen, Alex Lifeson, Brian May and Steve Rothery. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
Biography Hackett was born in Pimlico, London, to Peter
and June Hackett, and attended the Sloane Grammar School, Chelsea.
He grew up having access to various musical instruments, such as the recorder and harmonica,
but did not develop an interest in the guitar until the age of twelve, when he started playing
single notes. By fourteen, he was learning chords and experimenting with chord progressions,
although he never received any formal instruction. Hackett's earliest musical influences were
classical and opera. He has stated that his compositions are still influenced by them.
Hackett also has cited numerous British blues artists as influences, namely Danny Kirwan,
Peter Green, and various guitarists in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, as well as Jimi
Hendrix, The Beatles, and King Crimson. Early career
Hackett's first professional playing experience came with two bands – Canterbury Glass and
Sarabande – both of whom performed rock with progressive elements. His first recording
work came in 1970, as a member of Quiet World, a band that included his younger brother John
Hackett on flute. They released one album, The Road, but Hackett left the group soon
after. Seeking a new band, Hackett placed an advertisement
in Melody Maker magazine stating that he was looking for musicians "determined to strive
beyond existing stagnant music forms". The advert was responded to by Genesis lead vocalist
Peter Gabriel. Genesis had recently lost founding guitarist Anthony Phillips and, after seeing
them perform, Hackett auditioned for the group. He joined in December 1970.
Genesis
Hackett, who had little on-stage playing experience when he joined Genesis, had some trouble at
first performing with the group. But he soon settled into his role, and his unique stage
image served as a counter to Gabriel's extravagant costumes and theatrics.
Hackett's first recording with Genesis was Nursery Cryme, released in November 1971.
Hackett helped shape the group's sound at once, as heard on such songs as "The Musical
Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed." He became one of the first guitarists to experiment
with the tapping technique normally attributed to Eddie Van Halen. The continuo part in the
latter song sounds like a synthesiser because of distortion and because of his legato tapping
technique as well as Tony Banks's simultaneous Hohner Pianet continuo.
Although Nursery Cryme was not a commercial success, 1972's album Foxtrot was. It reached
No. 12 in the UK. Included on Foxtrot was Hackett's classical guitar solo composition
"Horizons", which quickly became one of his signature pieces.
Foxtrot began a trend of increasing commercial popularity for Genesis. In the group's 1973
album, Selling England by the Pound, Hackett showed continued and perfected use of the
tapping technique and sweep picking, which was popularised in 1984 by Yngwie Malmsteen.
Both of these techniques can be heard on the track "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight". The
track "Firth of Fifth" contains one of Hackett's most well-known guitar solos. The song has
remained a favourite in concert, even after Hackett's departure.
During the recording of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in 1974, Hackett's contribution
shrank from what he had contributed on Selling England by the Pound. He attributed this to
not being able to come to grips with the material presented, and his failing marriage. Another
factor was that Hackett injured his left hand after accidentally crushing a wine glass,
severing a nerve and a tendon. This led to the delay of the Lamb tour with seven dates
being cancelled in the UK. This also reflected the tension within the band.
In 1975, Hackett became the first member of Genesis to release a solo album, when he issued
Voyage of the Acolyte, which achieved silver sales status in UK. Assisting with the recording
were Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford. Hackett enjoyed the freedom he had when writing and
recording his own album. He began to become frustrated after returning to the group's
more democratic approach to songwriting. In an interview with Phoenix FM Hackett stated
that some of the tracks, particularly Shadow of the Hierophant, were rehearsed by Genesis
during the writing and recording of Foxtrot in 1972.
After Peter Gabriel's departure, the band reconvened to record the album A Trick of
the Tail, with Collins performing lead vocals after no other singer could be found. Hackett
had writing credits on some of the songs, but felt constricted by his lack of freedom
and level of input. His frustration increased as Genesis prepared
to release in December 1976 Wind & Wuthering. Hackett was insistent that more of his material
be included on the album, but was rebuffed. "Blood on the Rooftops", which Hackett wrote
with Phil Collins, made the album but was never played live. His composition "Please
Don't Touch" was rejected completely and replaced with the song Wot Gorilla as the last track
on side 1 of Wind and Wuthering. Another song, "Inside and Out", was relegated to the Spot
the Pigeon EP. Hackett remained with Genesis through the conclusion of the Wind & Wuthering
tour, but announced his departure on 8 October 1977, one week before the release of the group's
second live album Seconds Out. Reunions
Since Hackett's departure, the early 1970s line-up of Genesis has reunited a handful
of times. On 2 October 1982, the group gathered for "Six of the Best", a one-off performance
held to raise money for Peter Gabriel's WOMAD festival. This event has been the only one
to feature a performance by this line-up since 1975.
In 1998 the group gathered for a photo session and dinner to celebrate the release of Genesis
Archive 1967-75, a box set for which Hackett re-recorded some of his guitar parts. He also
participated in the re-recording of 1974's "The Carpet Crawlers" for inclusion on the
1999 Genesis greatest hits album Turn It On Again: The Hits; the other members of the
group also recorded some new parts, but not in the same studio at the same time. After
Trevor Horn and The Art of Noise had mixed the song, however, Gabriel's and Collins'
vocals were the only major new contributions to make the final release.
In an April 2006 radio interview, Phil Collins discussed a band meeting that took place in
November 2005. During that meeting, the group discussed the possibility of reuniting the
classic mid-1970s roster for a limited run of shows, including a complete performance
of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the group's 1974 double album. On 18 October 2006 it was
announced, however, that the post-Hackett line-up of Rutherford, Banks, and Collins
was instead reforming. In March 2010, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio
was asked to pay tribute to Genesis, one of his favourite bands, upon their induction
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to Anastasio's speech, Phish appeared and
performed two Genesis songs: "Watcher of the Skies" and "No Reply at All". Even though
Hackett and his Genesis bandmates attended the ceremony, they did not perform.
Solo career Hackett's first post-Genesis album was Please
Don't Touch, released in 1978. As with Voyage of the Acolyte, much of the material on the
album was in the style of progressive rock. It did contain, however, much more vocal work.
Hackett, who had never sung lead on a Genesis song, turned over most of the vocals to a
number of singers, including folk singer Richie Havens, R&B singer Randy Crawford, and Steve
Walsh of American progressive rock group Kansas. He did provide lead vocals for "Carry On Up
the Vicarage", but they were processed using a "laughing gnome" vocal effect. The album
peaked at No. 38 on the UK chart, and No. 103 on the Billboard pop Albums chart in the United
States. A pair of progressive rock albums followed:
1979's Spectral Mornings and 1980's Defector, which charted at No. 138 and 144 in the United
States, respectively. Hackett toured Europe for the first time as a solo act in 1978,
and in August '79 performed at the Reading Festival. The Defector tour brought him to
the United States for the first time since his final tour with Genesis.
Hackett's first major shift in musical style came with 1981's Cured. Although the album
contained some of the progressive and classical pieces for which Hackett was known, it also
showcased a much more pop approach. The album was recorded without any of the musicians
who had appeared on Hackett's solo albums since Spectral Mornings, apart from longtime
collaborators Nick Magnus and John Hackett. While Cured did not chart highly in the US,
it peaked at No. 15 in the UK. Several of his first solo albums also charted in Europe
– especially in Scandinavian countries, where his first 4 post-Genesis solo albums
all entered Top 30 on the Album Charts. In the 1980s, Hackett released his first classical
guitar albums, Bay of Kings and Momentum. The tour for Momentum drew large crowds in
Europe, considered unusual for a classical guitarist.
In 1983 Hackett participated on the British/Brazilian singer Ritchie's LP Voo de Coração. Hackett
played guitar on various tracks, and most songs on the LP were hits on Brazilian radio.
On the rock production side, Hackett's work in the 1980s also involved the LPs Highly
Strung and Till We Have Faces. Highly Strung contained the semi-hit "Cell 151", while Till
We Have Faces merged Hackett-style sounds with Brazilian percussion.
In 1986, Hackett formed the supergroup GTR with veteran Yes and Asia guitarist Steve
Howe. The group released a gold-selling album, produced by Yes/Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes.
Hackett soon left GTR over financial and management squabbles. In addition to Howe and Downes,
Hackett has also worked with Yes drummer Bill Bruford in Genesis, Yes bassist Chris Squire
and briefly Yes vocalist Trevor Horn. He also performed alongside former Yes keyboard player
Rick Wakeman on the latter's TV Show Gastank in the mid 1980s. Hackett's long-time keyboardist,
Julian Colbeck, played live with Yes spin-off Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe.
In 1986 Hackett also participated on former Yardbirds members Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith
and Jim McCarty and their Box of Frogs project second album "Strange Land" together with
Jimmy Page, Ian Dury and Graham Parker on tracks, "I Keep Calling", "20/20 Vision",
and "Average". In 1989 Hackett took the initiative for the charity project "Rock Against Repatriation"
and did a cover of Rod Stewarts hit "Sailing". Along with Hackett, Brian May, Bonnie Tyler,
Phil Manzanera, Mark King, Steve Rothery, Curt Smith, Howard Jones, Fish, Paul Carrack,
Justin Hayward and Simon Phillips among others participated.
Hackett's solo career continued, releasing a plethora of both electric, classical and
acoustic based albums throughout the 1990s to the present day. In 1996 the first of the
well received Genesis Revisited albums was released. In April 1997 he released the neo-classical
influenced A Midsummer Night's Dream, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the
album spent several weeks in the Top 10 of the UK classical charts. From this period
and next progressive rockalbum Darktown and forward, producer, keyboardist and arranger
Roger King has become an important role in Hacketts studio and live works.
In 2005, the first Steve Hackett biography ever, The Defector by journalist Mario Giammetti,
was published in Italy. In June 2009, Hackett announced a new solo
album featuring contributions of many artists, including former Genesis guitarist Anthony
Phillips and Chris Squire of Yes. The album, which was due for release mid October 2009
and called Out of the Tunnel's Mouth, was delayed due to legal reasons, but was eventually
on sale from November 2009, and some songs were performed on the European tour.
In August 2009, the official, authorised biography Sketches of Hackett by Alan Hewitt was published
by Wymer Publishing. The first edition hardback includes a bonus DVD with a 90-minute interview
filmed early in the year at Steve's home. On 15 March 2010, Genesis was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Hackett making a rare appearance alongside Phil Collins,
Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford at the ceremony, though they did not perform together. Hackett,
in recent years, has put on record his willingness to participate in a reunion. Genesis' planned
reunion of the classic 1970's line-up fell apart in 2007 when Peter Gabriel expressed
reservations, and subsequently Hackett dropped out in deference to the Genesis 'trio' line-up,
as opposed to the 4-piece. With Phil Collins' announcement of his retirement in 2011, any
possibility of another reunion is very slim. In 2011 Hackett released his 24th studio album
Beyond the Shrouded Horizon. In 2012 he went on tour to promote the album in the UK.
Later in 2012, Hackett and Squire again collaborated to release the album A Life Within A Day under
the name of "Squackett".
Hackett released Genesis Revisited II in late October 2012. Genesis Revisited II was till
that date Hackett's best chart performance outside the UK since the 1980s. The album
charted in Germany, Italy, France and Netherlands among others. In June 2013 both Genesis Revisited
and Genesis Revisited II were awarded a Japanese Gold Sales Award. Genesis Revisited II also
featured former Genesis Singer Ray Wilson. Hackett won the Event of the Year award at
the 2013 Progressive Music Awards for Genesis Revisited at Hammersmith Apollo. In October
2013 the show was released as a 5 CD/DVD box set: Live at Hammersmith, and in June 2014
another CD/DVD box set from the Genesis Revisited II-tour was released: Live at the Royal Albert
Hall. Both boxes entered several European charts as well as breaking through the German
Top 20 Album Chart. Personal life
Hackett has been married three times. His first, brief, marriage was to Ellen Busse
and the couple had a son, Oliver. The union broke down at about the time of the recording
of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. He then married Brazilian painter and jewellery artist
Kim Poor on 14 August 1981. They divorced on 18 May 2007. He married author Jo Lehmann
on 4 June 2011. Steve's younger brother John was involved
as flute player and second guitarist in his 1970s bands. John has often appeared as musician
and collaborator on his more recent work, particularly on Sketches of Satie, arranged
for flute and guitar. Discography
Studio albums
References
External links Steve Hackett's official website
The Official Steve Hackett Facebook page Steve Hackett at AllMusic
Steve Hackett at the Internet Movie Database