An attempt is made here to provide a brief biography on Steve Hackett and his musical endeavours to date. Like many a fan of Hackett's music my appreciation of his unique style of guitar playing began during his period with Genesis. Although his involvement with Genesis covered 10 albums he is probably the least familiar figure amongst the band's present and former members. Oddly enough he is the only member who has enjoyed commercial success (albeit limited) without sacrificing his creativity and originality. In my humble opinion it was the absence of his complex and distinctive playing after his departure from Genesis that signalled an end to the band's most creative period.

Steve Hackett's musical career began with various bands in which he was very much a session player - Canterbury Glass and Sarabande to name but two. Steve's first experience with the world of recording came however, when he joined the band Quiet World in 1970. Their only album, entitled 'The Road', was released in 1970 by Dawn Records and was also reputedly re-issued by that label in Japan. A single from the album, "Love is Walking" was also released.

In early 1971 Steve joined Genesis as a replacement for founding member Anthony Phillips when lead singer Peter Gabriel responded to an ad that Steve placed in Melody Maker. His first contribution to the band came on 'Nursery Cryme' an album that the band was working on at the time of Anthony Phillips' departure. The addition of Steve's complex and distinctive guitar work on this and following Genesis albums greatly contributed to the band's following. When he finally left the band they had grown from cult status (i.e., close to bankruptcy) to one enjoying a massive world-wide following.

Steve's first solo album, 'Voyage of The Acolyte', was completed in 1975 whilst still a member of Genesis. The corresponding departure of Peter Gabriel instilled an atmosphere of discomfort amongst the remaining members of Genesis over Steve's solo projects. The album did include both Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins and as such has since been described by many fans to have been the best album that Genesis never made! Several tracks from this album were featured in Steve's earlier live performances including 'A Tower Struck Down' and the "Shadow of the Hierophant".

After the 'Wind & Wuthering' tour Genesis was well on their way to reaping the rewards financially from years of hard work and obscurity. Nonetheless Steve made the decision to leave the group, compelled perhaps by a need to develop his own musical identity free from the constraints of a "committee" writing style which the band then employed. The result of this new found freedom was the album 'Please Don't Touch!' which included appearances by Richie Havens and Randy Crawford whose vocals on the track "Hoping Love Will Last" were as far from the Genesis mode as one could imagine. Touring 'Please Don't Touch!' posed difficulties for many of the musicians who appeared on the album so Steve selected a team that would eventually accompany him over the next few years. Pete Hicks on vocals, John Shearer on drums and the unrecognised virtuoso of the flute, guitar and bass pedals; Steve's own brother John (not number 9) were often described by Hackett as, "not a bad band". As a group on stage they formed an impressive outfit and were consequently invited to record with Steve as a band on his next album 'Spectral Mornings'.

Many of the tracks that found their way onto 'Spectral Mornings' had already been arranged during the 'Please Don't Touch!' tour. The album was immensely successful both in the UK and in Europe. Steve's first full-length tour to packed theatres in the UK and Europe was highlighted by the headline spot at the Reading Festival in August 1979. With 'Spectral Mornings' Steve broadened his spectrum with songs such as "The Virgin & The Gypsy" and the anti-drug message in "Everyday". The track "The Red Flower of Ta Chai Blooms Everywhere", incorporated an oriental texture which contrasted with the more powerful "Clocks - The Angel of Mons", later to become a regular of live performances.

Fans didn't have long to wait for Steve's next album, 'Defector', which was released a little under a year after 'Spectral Mornings'. One of Steve's strongest albums it was an expression of the idea that a defector from the old Eastern Bloc might form upon his arrival in the West to discover that everyone dreams in colour.

'Cured', Steve's following release was given a mixed reception by fans. The album took a different direction and didn't appeal to all listeners due in part perhaps to a more commercially orientated sound. 'Cured' clearly marked a change in direction for Steve taking a studio based pop approach to his music, abandoning the group feel for a high tech sound. Steve hit the road with 'Cured' for his largest European tour to date, which included several concerts in the Soviet Bloc. The touring band included Chas Cronk of the Strawbs on bass and drummer Ian Mosely, who eventually went on to join the band Marillion.

In 1982 Steve participated in numerous charity activities including organising a benefit concert for the "Poland Aid" charity and a gig at Guildford Civic Centre for the Tadworth Children's Hospital where he was joined on stage by old Genesis colleagues Peter Gabriel and Mike Rutherford. 1982 also saw Steve and the other members of the Genesis come together at Milton Keynes Bowl on Saturday 2nd October in aid of Peter Gabriel's cash-starved WOMAD project.

Early in 1983 an indication of Steve's new direction was given by the release of a single from the new album, 'Highly Strung', in the form of "Cell 151" which was backed by a marvelous live version of "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare". Ironically this release was to give Steve his best ever chart position for a single at a time when things were not going too well with his record company, Charisma, who were caught in the throes of a take-over by Virgin.

1983 however became a bumper year for Steve Hackett fans. The "rock" album: 'Highly Strung' became his most successful since 'Spectral Mornings', released almost four years earlier. Only a few months after touring 'Highly Strung', Steve returned with another album and tour. His own labours had borne fruit in the form of 'Bay Of Kings' and another extensive tour of the UK followed, playing halls and theatres where the more intimate nature of the music would be better appreciated.

Steve's next release surprised fans by utilising "ethnic sounds" which have since been given the title of "World Music". 'Till We Have Faces' was a rhythmically charged exploration of the percussion and samba music of Brazil, where most of the record was written. It surprised many of Steve's fans and naturally the critics loathed it. After all this wasn't Paul Simon.

As one can imagine it would have been impossible to take a samba school on the road and so the album became the only Steve Hackett album which has never been played in a live context.

Steve made his first live appearance for two and half years at a charity gig staged by Marillion at the Hammersmith Odeon in February 1986 where he joined in with a performance of the early Genesis classic "I Know What I Like".

In 1986 Steve formed GTR with Steve Howe and the subsequent tour produced a top ten US single and platinum album as well as attracting immense media coverage from MTV and nation-wide press and radio. The creative output between the two guitarists was evident on the first single 'When The Heart Rules The Mind', co-written on their very first day together, which went on to be a huge success in the States and achieved a respectable chart position in the UK and Europe as well. A tour ensued to promote the album and culminated in sell-out shows at Hammersmith Odeon. The show was divided into three sections, the two Steves performing separate acoustic sets prior to the main event with GTR - as one review of the show at Hammersmith said "three bands for the price of one".

Steve's answer to the "stadium rock" experience with GTR was to return again to the "little orchestra" and, inspired by his earlier success, he recorded a second album of acoustic guitar pieces, 'Momentum'. Released in the spring of 1988 and performed extensively throughout Britain and Europe that year, with a record-breaking crowd of over 90,000 in the Soviet Union just to hear him play the nylon strung guitar.

The extensive tour of the UK & Europe was well accepted and 'Momentum' also gained a respectable position in the charts amidst warm reviews. Steve had also been at work on a new rock album, in fact it was almost ready at the time of the tour - a heavily guested project with such as Chris Thompson, Brian May, Bonnie Tyler and Ian and Pete from Marillion. However, due to various contractual problems, the project has yet to see the light of day although a few tantalising snippets have been aired on various projects since then.

The period from 1988 until mid 1992 was a quiet one from a fan's perspective but Steve was far from idle. In 1992 Virgin released 'The Unauthorised Biography', a compilation album which contained a selection of his finest moments from the Charisma era along with two new recordings, "Don't Fall Away From Me" and "Prayers And Dreams".

The live album 'Time Lapse' followed, recorded from two different concert performances with two different bands almost ten years separating them. The first was a performance recorded in New York's Savoy Theatre in 1981 and the latter a 1990 TV special from Nottingham.

Live shows once again became an important part of Steve's life when he undertook a tour of the USA to promote 'Time Lapse' and to experiment with material from his next studio album 'Guitar Noir'. Released in May 1993, 'Guitar Noir' was his twelfth studio album to date. The touring schedule continued into 1993 with Steve's first extensive UK tour in almost six years and visits to North and South America and Italy into the bargain. The set drew heavily from his new album keeping the older material for the latter half of the show and audiences certainly gave Steve and his new band a rapturous welcome.

Steve's next project was 'Blues With A Feeling', released in September 1994 with strong blues roots. Wailing on the harmonica, Steve seemed to have come full circle paying tribute to the type of music that formed his earliest influences and inspirations.

1983's 'Bay Of Kings' was the first expression of his growing philosophy of 'music without props'. Accompanied by his brother, John, on flute he recorded an album of seamless simplicity, which was for him a natural progression. Steve went on to enjoy a hugely successful 'acoustic' tour during which the Financial Times reported that the only two artistes who had sold out London's prestigious Barbican Concert Hall that year were the London Symphony Orchestra and Steve Hackett! Although not originally a classical player, Steve endeavours to enlarge the existing repertoire by writing timeless pieces for acoustic guitar and one of these was given the seal of approval by Yehudi Menuhin when he used it as the theme to his television documentary From Kew To The Findhorn Foundation.

In 1992 Steve realised a long held ambition by collaborating with the London Chamber Orchestra on a performance of Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto at London's prestigious South Bank. It is precisely this ability to successfully bridge the musical spectrum that has earned him the admiration both of rock contemporaries and leading classical players such as Yehudi Menuhin.

1993 saw Hackett take yet another new direction with 'Guitar Noir', which, as the title suggests, explores the deeper shadows of composition and of the instrument. This inspired combination of layered textures of sounds was without doubt his most adventurous work yet.

The second half of the 90's treated Steve Hackett fan's well with a flurry of albums covering a live acoustic concert, classical music, and colaboration with a number of rock giants to produce a re-visitation to the early work of Genesis. The 1995 release of 'There Are Many Sides To The Night' surely fulfilled the wishes of many Hackett fans to experience and "un-plugged" live performance. The concert, recorded at the Teatro Metropolitan in Palermo, Sicily, was Hackett, accompanied only by keyboardist Julian Colbeck together producing shear magic.

If this album wasn't enough to appease his fans Steve followed this by releasing 'Genesis Revisited' in 1996 a collection of classic Genesis songs performed with a number of 'Prog Rock' heroes and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1997 Steve joined John Wetton, Ian McDonald, Chester Thompson and Julian Colbeck for a live performance of Steve's music and other work from Genesis, King Crimson and John Wetton that became 'Steve Hackett & Friends/Live In Japan' on video and laserdisc. It was also released as 'The Tokyo Tapes' on CD.

Later that year Steve released 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' an interpretation of Shakespear's play once again together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The 1990's ended with the enigmatic 'Dark Town' which featured the haunting track "Days Of Long Ago".

Like many of his former collaborators who have succeeded artistically on their own terms, Steve Hackett has remained true to his muses, someone who cannot be easily packaged and indeed has an aversion to the trappings of rock stardom. Yet, there can be no denying that Hackett is a legend whose reputation rests on sheer talent, sensitive playing and a never failing ability to challenge and intrigue his audience.