1968–1970: Early bands Hackett's first professional playing experience came as a member of three rock bands: Canterbury Glass, with whom he played on "Prologue" on their album
Sacred Scenes and Characters which was recorded in 1968 but distributed in 2007; Heel Pier; and Sarabande, all of whom performed rock with
progressive rock elements. He then joined
Quiet World in 1970 which featured his brother John on flute. He did not write any material with the group as the band's founders directed what the other members played, which did not bother Hackett as he wished to get more experience in a recording studio since the band had secured a contract with a label. Hackett played on the band's only studio album,
The Road (1970), released on
Dawn Records, and left them soon after.
1970–1977: Genesis In December 1970, Hackett placed an advertisement in
Melody Maker in his search for a new band. It read: "Imaginative guitarist-writer seeks involvement with receptive musicians, determined to strive beyond existing stagnant music forms". In a 2021 interview, Hackett explained that, by 'stagnant', he meant a lack of inclusion among the different music genres in the 1970s. The ad was responded to by
Genesis lead vocalist
Peter Gabriel.
Foxtrot (1972) includes Hackett's guitar solo composition "Horizons", which he based on a Suite for Cello by
Bach. On the first day of recording
Foxtrot, Hackett offered to leave Genesis because he felt he was not contributing enough to their work and would soon be kicked out of the band anyway, but Rutherford and Banks said they liked his playing and wanted him to stay. Hackett called this a pivotal moment which largely dispelled the insecurity he felt during his early days with the band.
Selling England by the Pound (1973) features Hackett using tapping and
sweep picking, later popularised by
Yngwie Malmsteen, both of which are used on "
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight". The song "
Firth of Fifth" contains one of Hackett's most well-known guitar solos and remained a favourite in concert even after Hackett's departure. The solo was in fact composed by Banks, but Gabriel, Collins, and Banks himself have all said that Hackett effectively made it his own with his interpretation. Gabriel said that
Selling England by the Pound "was [Hackett's] coming-of-age album in a lot of ways." The writing sessions for
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) was a difficult time for the entire group, partly due to the personal lives of some members which affected the mood. Hackett explained: "Everybody had their own agenda. Some of us were married, some of us had children, some of us were getting divorced. And we were still trying to get it together in the country". By "some of us were getting divorced", Hackett was coyly referring to his divorce from his first wife; none of the other members were going through divorces. According to Banks, Hackett was not very involved in the songwriting for
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, though he did write the vocal melody for "Cuckoo Cocoon" and the lead melody for "Hairless Heart", and co-wrote the music to "It" with Banks. Hackett picked out "The Lamia" and "Fly on a Windshield" as his favourite moments on the album. Hackett has the distinction of being the only member of Genesis during his tenure who did not sing. Hackett explained, "I was too shy to sing in those days; I thought I would sing out of tune." After recording his debut album
Voyage of the Acolyte, Hackett resumed working in Genesis, who recorded
A Trick of the Tail (1976), the band's first after Gabriel left the band. At this point Banks felt that the practice of crediting all Genesis songs as written by all the members no longer accurately reflected the balance within the group, since the bulk of
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was written by Gabriel and himself, and at his prodding the band switched to using individual writing credits. As a result, Hackett is credited for co-writing only three of the eight songs on
A Trick of the Tail: "Dance on a Volcano", "
Entangled" and "Los Endos". The follow-up,
Wind & Wuthering (1976), is Hackett's final studio album with the band. He had grown increasingly constricted by his lack of freedom and level of input and was insistent that more of his material be included on the album, but was rebuffed. One of his rejected songs, "Please Don't Touch", was adopted for his second solo album, ''
Please Don't Touch!''. Hackett left the band during the mixing stage of the Genesis live album,
Seconds Out. His departure was announced in the press during the promotion of the album on 8 October 1977. Hackett has said that he "needed autonomy".
Reunions Since Hackett's departure, the 1970–1975 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 Gabriel's
WOMAD festival. In 1983, Hackett was joined on stage by Gabriel and Rutherford during a series of shows at the Civic Hall in Guildford, the three performing with Hackett's band. The set list included a mix of Genesis songs, covers and tracks from their solo careers. In 1998, members of Genesis reunited for a photo session and dinner to celebrate the release of the
Genesis Archive 1967–75 box set. The release featured Hackett and Gabriel re-recording some guitar and vocal parts, respectively. Hackett also participated in the re-recording of "
The Carpet Crawlers" from
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway for inclusion on the 1999 greatest hits album
Turn It On Again: The Hits. In late 2005, the 1970–1975 line-up gathered to discuss the possibility of a reunion and performing
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. After Gabriel decided against the idea, Hackett opted out of the project. This led to Banks, Rutherford and Collins getting together in 2006 for the
Turn It On Again: The Tour. Hackett took part in a series of interviews for the remastering of the band's albums in 2007, and the interview book
Genesis: Chapter and Verse released in the same year. In March 2010, 1970–1975 line-up of Genesis were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by
Phish guitarist
Trey Anastasio. Hackett appeared at the ceremony with Banks, Rutherford and Collins, though none of them performed. In 2014, Hackett was featured in the BBC documentary
Genesis: Together and Apart which focused on the band and the solo careers of the other members. Hackett expressed his displeasure with it following its broadcast, which he described as a "biased account of Genesis history" which "totally ignores" his solo work. Hackett was included in the compilation album
R-Kive containing Genesis material and tracks from each member's solo career. His contributions are "Ace of Wands", "Every Day" and "Nomads". In 2022, Hackett said he was invited to the final Genesis concert in London on 26 March. However, he was unable to attend due to his tour being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2025, Hackett joined Gabriel, Banks and Rutherford for a release party for the 50th anniversary remastered version of
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Collins, who was recovering from a surgery, was unable to join). The four members gave an interview to Planet Rock about their thoughts on the album and memories of putting it together.
1975–present: Solo career 1970s in 1977 In October 1975, Hackett released his first solo album,
Voyage of the Acolyte. Its original title was
Premonitions, but management at Charisma disliked it and suggested
Voyage of the Acolyte, to which Hackett agreed. The album features Collins and Rutherford on drums and bass, respectively, and reached No. 26 in the UK and was certified silver. Hackett enjoyed the freedom he had when writing and recording his own album, but was informed by Rutherford and Banks that he could not continue his solo career while in Genesis. Part of one of the album tracks, "Shadow of the Hierophant", was rehearsed by Genesis during the writing and recording of
Foxtrot. Upon its release Hackett resumed working in Genesis. Hackett's first post-Genesis album was ''
Please Don't Touch!, released in 1978. As with Voyage of the Acolyte
(1975), 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 or backing vocals 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. Having released two albums, Hackett was faced with the task of assembling a band to perform the material live. This became a group with John Hackett on flute, bass pedals and guitar, Dik Cadbury on bass and vocals, Nick Magnus on keyboards, John Shearer on drums, and Pete Hicks on lead vocals. In 1986, Hackett also participated with former
Yardbirds members
Chris Dreja,
Paul Samwell-Smith and
Jim McCarty on 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 1987, Hackett contributed to the Genesis orchestral album
We Know What We Like: The Music of Genesis, performed by the
London Symphony Orchestra with arranger and conductor
David Palmer. After GTR, Hackett returned to the studio and recorded a new solo album,
Momentum. The troubles he had faced in GTR led Hackett to rate the album as "a theraputic, cathartic thing" as he welcomed the return to recording "music without props". In May 1993, Hackett released his tenth studio album,
Guitar Noir. It includes the track "Walking Away from Rainbows", which lyrically dealt with Hackett's career decision of leaving mainstream music and pursuing what he wishes. In 1999, Hackett released his fourteenth studio album,
Darktown. The album is named after a book, and the music and lyrical ideas took eight years to finalise. Hackett looked back on the album as one with lyrical themes that he had not been "brave enough" to present before. Later in 2000, an album of Hackett's with material originally put together in 1986 but put on the shelf, was released as
Feedback 86. A portion of the material was for a second GTR album, and features appearances by
Brian May. In 2001, Hackett contributed instrumental music to the score of
Outwitting Hitler, a documentary about a Holocaust survivor. It was his first venture into soundtrack work, and had one weekend to finish it. He used themes that he had previously released with some originally intended for his future guitar/orchestra album
Metamorpheus (2005). In 2003, Hackett released
To Watch the Storms, his first studio album in four years and his first completed in his new recording studio, Crown Studios. It also marked his return to progressive rock music, and unlike his several previous records the material was put together within three months. His next solo release was the orchestral
Metamorpheus (2005) with the Underworld Orchestra, which dates back to 1997 when Hackett recorded his guitar parts for the songs. This was followed by the rock album
Wild Orchids (2006), followed by
Tribute (2007), a classical album showcasing original pieces and renditions of those by Bach, Byrd, Barrios, and
Andrés Segovia. The recording of ''
Out of the Tunnel's Mouth'' (2009), was met with various legal issues, including those instigated by his ex-wife Kim Poor and his former manager Billy Budis regarding its rights and attempt to block its release, to prevent Hackett from playing on records by other artists, and the ownership of Hackett's catalogue on Camino Records. A court decision allowed Hackett to "be back in the record business", and to release ''Out of the Tunnel's Mouth'' on his new label Wolfwork Records in October 2009. The album was recorded at Hackett's own flat rather than a professional studio. It features contributions by former Genesis guitarist
Anthony Phillips and
Yes bassist
Chris Squire. Hackett toured the album. In August 2009, an official, authorised biography,
Sketches of Hackett by Alan Hewitt, was released. The first edition hardback includes a bonus DVD with a 90-minute interview.
2010s On 15 March 2010, Genesis was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Hackett making a rare appearance alongside Collins, Banks and Rutherford at the ceremony, though they did not perform together. Hackett had put on record his willingness to participate in a reunion. A planned reunion of the classic 1970s Genesis 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 four-piece. In 2011, Hackett released his 24th studio album
Beyond the Shrouded Horizon (no. 133 in the UK album chart). In 2012 he went on tour to promote the album in the UK. In 2012, Hackett and Chris Squire again collaborated to release the album
A Life Within a Day under the name of Squackett. Hackett released
Genesis Revisited II in October 2012. His main reason to revisit the project was the desire to perform the material live once more, and got various musicians to perform the songs which cover material by Genesis and some solo material. Involved was former Genesis lead vocalist
Ray Wilson. The album was met with enthusiasm from the public which resulted in Hackett making a stronger chart presence and a sell out supporting tour in the UK. The show was released on CD and DVD as
Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith which reached No. 58 in the UK. Hackett completed a second tour with a rearranged setlist in 2014 which spawned
Genesis Revisited: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. This reached No. 80 in the UK. Following the success of the Genesis Revisited tours, Hackett has considered himself as "the keeper of the flame of the early work" of Genesis.
Wolflight also contains
Chris Squire's last studio recording with the track "Love Song to a Vampire". In September 2015, the independent music company Wienerworld released
The Man, The Music, a documentary on Hackett's career that went to No. 5 on the UK DVD chart. That October, Universal/Virgin released
Premonitions: The Charisma Years 1975–1983, a 14-disc box set of his first six studio albums with extra material including live recordings and new remixes by
Steven Wilson. Hackett's solo album
The Night Siren (no. 28 UK album chart) was released in March 2017 and entered top 40 in six international album charts. The album continues the exploration of world music/progressive rock, and also contains influences from the Beatles' psychedelia period and classic science fiction. In October Hackett won the "Chris Squire Virtuoso" award at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards. In October 2018, Hackett underwent a UK tour which featured his band performing Genesis and solo tracks with the 41-piece Heart of England Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bradley Tkachuk. Tkachuk and his brother took the orchestral arrangements that they had produced for a concert that Hackett performed in Buffalo, New York in 2017, which also featured an orchestra on stage, as the basis for the orchestral parts used for the tour, including those from Hackett's collaboration with the Icelandic band
Todmobile. A live album and concert film from the tour was released in 2019, entitled at the
Royal Festival Hall, London was released in 2019, entitled
Genesis Revisited Band & Orchestra: Live at the Royal Festival Hall. Hackett released
At the Edge of Light, in January 2019. The album reached no 28 in the UK and marked Hacketts 10th solo album on the UK top 40 album charts since his solo debut in 1975. In 2019, Hackett toured with a set comprising
Selling England by the Pound performed in its entirety with other Genesis songs, plus tracks from
At the Edge of Light and
Spectral Mornings to commemorate the latter's fortieth anniversary. The show at London's Hammersmith Apollo, the last of the tour was released as a live album and concert film on 25 September 2020, entitled
Selling England by the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith.
2020s In March 2020, Hackett cancelled his existing North American tour just before a performance in Harrisburg, PA due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. He resumed touring with performances including Genesis'
Seconds Out in September 2021 in Leicester followed by resumption of the cancelled North American tour in April 2022 in Boston following cancellation of the Canadian leg of the tour in March due to a case of COVID in the touring team.
Surrender of Silence entered the UK chart at 31 and made the top 10 chart in Germany. Another solo album,
The Circus and the Nightwhale was released 16 February 2024 on InsideOut Music. On 16 April 2024, Hackett was hospitalised due to an adverse reaction to medication for a bronchial infection, with a show at Phoenix consequently cancelled. == Personal life ==