Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett is a guitarist and composer from London, United Kingdom, born in 1950. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist with Genesis from 1971 to 1977. During that period, he appears on six studio albums, three live albums, seven singles and one EP with the group.

Genesis and recognition

Hackett joins Genesis in 1971 and remains with them until 1977. He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. His playing is associated with early use of two-handed tapping and sweep picking, and he is cited as an influence on guitarists including Eddie Van Halen, Brian May, Alex Lifeson and Steve Rothery.

Solo work

While still in Genesis, Hackett releases his first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, in 1975. He continues a long solo career from 1978 onward, releasing albums and touring internationally. His solo output spans progressive rock, pop, blues, world music and classical music, and includes titles such as Please Don’t Touch!, Spectral Mornings, Defector, Cured, Highly Strung, Bay of Kings, Till We Have Faces, Momentum, Guitar Noir, Blues with a Feeling, Genesis Revisited, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Darktown, Feedback 86, To Watch the Storms, Metamorpheus, Wild Orchids, Tribute, Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth, Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, Genesis Revisited II, Wolflight, The Night Siren, At the Edge of Light, Under a Mediterranean Sky, Surrender of Silence and The Circus and the Nightwhale.

GTR and other projects

In 1986, Hackett co-founds the supergroup GTR with Steve Howe. The group releases a self-titled album that reaches number 11 on the Billboard 200 and includes the Top 20 single “When the Heart Rules the Mind”. Hackett leaves GTR in 1987, after which the group disbands. He also appears as a member of Quiet World, Gordian Knot and The Prog World Orchestra, and the labels associated with his work include Camino Records.