Steve Hackett, who once wielded lead axe in Genesis, has no bitterness when it comes to his old bandmates. He wasn’t invited to partake in what appears to be the British prog-rock band’s farewell tour, but that doesn’t bother him at all.

“I’ve been so busy doing shows myself. Whenever they’ve been playing, I’ve been playing at the same time, and frankly, I’ve been doing a lot more shows then they have,” he told Creative Loafing Tampa over the phone from Europe, only days before beginning the U.S. leg of his latest tour.
This year, the 72-year-old guitarist is honoring the commitments he was set to make on an axed-by-COVID 2021 tour. Originally, Hackett and his five-piece backing band were set to perform Selling England By The Pound—often hailed as Genesis’ greatest album—as well as the Seconds Out live album, an early retrospective of the group’s prog days. He was already performing the former in its entirety on the road when everything shut down. “We literally got the last flight back out of Philadelphia.”

But what people forget is that Hackett’s career has extended far beyond Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel.

Last year, he released two records. Under A Mediterranean Sky is acoustic-based, with guest spots from an orchestra, and Surrender of Silence includes world music influence. Much of his inspiration came from his wife of 11 years, author Jo Lehmann, who often times will go beyond helping out with song lyrics, and will actually take on song structure and helping to edit melodies. “It thrills me the way she can be so musical, and so, I listen to her in all things. It’s a great partnership, and as far as I’m concerned, she’s part of the band!” Hackett said.

Hackett has also been closely acquainted with two members of one of progressive rock’s pioneering groups, Yes: Founding member and bassist Chris Squire, and “classic” lineup guitarist Steve Howe. For one thing, Hackett was a member of supergroup GTR, alongside Howe and Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler. During those days, he met Chris Squire, and decades later, the two would team up to create the short-lived Squackett, which turned out to be one of Squire’s last studio projects before his 2015 passing. “It took awhile to put together, because he was between the U.K. and the States, so we had to work around his availability. But, I think that we did an album that’s got a really great final product, to be honest,” he recalled.

During the pandemic, Hackett finally released his own autobiography, “A Genesis In My Bed,” some four years after Phil Collins’ own book, “Not Dead Yet” hit the shelves. “I started writing it 15 years ago, but there was so much recording and so many tours, and there really wasn’t time to finish everything off,” he began.

When COVID-19 hit mid-tour, and he was isolated at home in England, there was plenty of time to continue telling his life story, without many musical ventures to interfere. “The idea of growing in 1950s London, post-war, among the pollution. I wanted to paint the picture of that time, and of course, how that changed over the decades,” Hackett explained, adding that he wanted it to be as truthful as possible as well, rather than fill the pages with lies that make his fan base either pity him, or revere him more than it already does.

Whichever side the fans take, not a back has been turned on Hackett in Tampa Bay, as his show at the Bilheimer Capitol Theatre—located in the heart of downtown Clearwater—is sold out to the gills. As it should be.