Stephen Richard Hackett (b. February 12, 1950, in Pimlico, England) is a songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970. Hackett remained with the band for eight albums before leaving in 1977 to pursue a solo career.

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 #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 has encompassed many styles, such as progressive rock, world music, and classical. Although rumors regarding a Genesis reunion regularly appear, to date no official announcements have been made.

Early career

Steve Hackett's earliest 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 younger brother John Hackett on flute. The group released one album, The Road, but Hackett departed the group soon after.

Hackett, seeking a new band, placed an ad in Melody Maker. The ad, in which Hackett stated he was seeking musicians "determined to strive beyond stagnant music forms," was spotted by Genesis vocalist Peter Gabriel, who contacted Hackett. The band had recently lost founding member Anthony Phillips, and was performing with a temporary guitarist. After seeing Genesis perform, Hackett auditioned for the group and joined in December 1970.

Genesis

Hackett, who had very little on-stage playing experience when he joined Genesis, had some initial difficulty performing with the group. But he soon settled into his role, and his unique stage image (wearing glasses and seated in a hunched position over his guitar) served as a counter to the costumed theatrics of Gabriel.

Hackett's first recording with Genesis was Nursery Cryme, released in November 1971. Hackett made an immediate impact on the group's sound, as evidenced by his work on songs such as "The Musical Box" and "The Return of the Giant Hogweed." Although Nursery Cryme was not a commercial success, 1972's Foxtrot was. Included on Foxtrot was the brief classical acoustic solo "Horizon's," which quickly became one of his signature pieces.

Foxtrot began a trend of increasing commercial popularity for Genesis. The group's 1973 effort, Selling England by the Pound, was particularly successful. During this period, Hackett became one of the first guitarists to use the tapping technique normally credited to Eddie Van Halen, and sweep-picking popularized in the 1980s by Yngwie Malmsteen. These techniques were used in the album's opener, "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight."

In 1975, Hackett became the first member of Genesis to release a solo album when he issued Voyage of the Acolyte. Assisting with the recording were Hackett's Genesis bandmates, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford. Hackett enjoyed the freedom he had when writing and recording the album, and soon became disenchanted with the democratic approach to songwriting Genesis employed.

Hackett's frustration increased as Genesis prepared to release 1977's Wind & Wuthering. Hackett was insistent that more of his material be included on the album, but was rebuffed. "Blood on the Rooftops," which Hackett co-wrote with Collins, never made it into the band's setlist, and his composition "Please Don't Touch" was rejected completely. 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 left in mid-1977. His last appearance as a bandmember was on the 1977 live album Seconds Out.

Solo career

After leaving Genesis in late 1977 Steve released Please Don't Touch and, with the success of his first two albums, assembled a touring line-up that would help in the creation of his next two releases, Spectral Mornings and Defector.

In the 1980s Steve released his first classical guitar albums Bay of Kings and Momentum which further enhanced his reputation. The tour for Momentum drew large crowds in Europe, considered unusual for a classical guitarist!

In 1986, Hackett formed the supergroup GTR with former Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe and released a gold-selling album.

Steve's solo career continued, releasing a plethora of both electric and acoustic based albums throughout the 90s into the present day. One of his most memorable recordings was the neo-classical influenced A Midsummer Night's Dream which showcases his impeccable virtuosity, accompanied by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. On the rock production side, Hackett's work in the 80s involve the LPs Cured (1981), Highly Strung (1982) and Till We Have Faces (1984). Cured shows how a pop album can be not only meant to be commercial, but include fresh ideas and high quality music as a master guitarist can do. In Highly Strung, more than a nuance of electronic sound appears, making the album unique and unrepeated in Hackett's production, and surely one of the most difficult to approach. Till We Have Faces merges sounds from typical Hackett's style together with Brazilian percussions: the result is incredible, but not all the tracks keep up with this.

Steve's younger brother John was much involved (as flute player and second guitarist) in his 1970s bands, and has often appeared as musician and collaborator on his more recent work, particularly on the ambitious 'Sketches of Satie' arranged for flute and guitar, from year 2000.

                       

Courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Hackett