A native of the
Southwestern Ontario city of
St. Thomas, Paul Hackman played in two local bands, Whitehorse and Purple Wedge. He joined Helix in 1976 when original keyboardist Don Simmons handed in his resignation. Hackman saw an ad for a replacement keyboard player in the newspaper and contacted Helix manager William Seip. Hackman informed Seip that he too had been searching for a keyboard player for his own band, and hadn't found one in six months. He convinced Seip to let him audition as a new guitar player, which took place at the Seip farm in
Baden, a small Ontario community. Hackman was offered the gig, and according to lead vocalist
Brian Vollmer, "our sound became heavier and more aggressive." Helix released two
independent albums on their own H&S Records, entitled
Breaking Loose and
White Lace & Black Leather, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Helix signed with
Capitol Records in 1983 and released
No Rest for the Wicked. This album featured Canadian hit
video "Heavy Metal Love", which Hackman and Vollmer co-wrote.
Long Way to Heaven, featuring Hackman's "Deep Cuts The Knife", followed in 1985. In 1986, another Hackman co-write, "It's Too Late" from the
movie soundtrack to
Iron Eagle, was released. The 1987 album
Wild in the Streets was considered a disappointment by Capitol Records, only managing an unexpectedly low #179 on the
Billboard 200 in the United States, although the album did go
gold in Canada. By the end of the 1980s, Hackman had toured not only all over Canada, United States and England, but even played in
Sweden and
Trinidad. In 1990, after a short break, Helix released what would turn out to be its final album with Hackman,
Back for Another Taste, for which Hackman and Vollmer co-wrote "Runnin' Wild in the 21st Century". == Death and legacy ==