The John Hackett Band play St Leonards

The John Hackett Band marks its tenth anniversary with gigs including The Piper, St Leonards on Thursday, October 8 with special guest Dikajee (solo).

They are also playing Southampton on Sunday, October 11 – https://www.the1865.live/events/the-john-hackett-band-dorie-jackson

John has been a key figure on the progressive rock scene since the mid-70s, best known for his flute work with his brother, former Genesis guitarist, Steve Hackett on albums such as Voyage of The Acolyte, Please Don’t Touch and Spectral Mornings alongside his own solo albums Checking Out Of London, Another Life and The Piper Plays His Tune.

Jeremy Richardson is bassist with the band.

“There was a previous incarnation of The John Hackett Band way back in 2005 when John had his first solo album. He is known for his flute work with his brother Steve from Genesis. He is a songwriter as well and a very, very accomplished flautist and he did this album in 2005 called Checking Out Of London. That was with The John Hackett Band mark one, and the only person who's still with the band now from that band is John himself. They did a bunch of gigs and then folded.

“And then John did another solo album ten years later in 2015 called Another Life. He was going to do a launch gig, and I think he was a bit apprehensive just doing it in his own. (Guitarist) Nick Fletcher happened to be around. John was playing him some of the material and Nick picked up an electric guitar and just started noodling on it. John said do you fancy coming along to this launch. And then they got my friend Duncan involved who is a percussionist. He came on board. They did this launch in London and it went really well and then they just thought that it could be a going concern if they had a bassist. That's when the backbone got in contact with me and asked me.”

Logistically there have been challenges. They all live in Sheffield whereas Jeremy lives in Aberystwyth: “But I went up there to jam and to see if there was any kind of synergy, and we felt that there was. We started gigging the following year. Back then it was about John's reputation but more and more because we're all writers, I think it has come to represent all of us really.

“We've been going now ten years and it has been a lot of fun. We have done a couple of albums. I think most interesting for John in a way is that he started with Steve when Steve was still with Genesis and very successfully so, back in 1975. And then he went on tour with Steve and his band and played to huge crowds all over the world but I think with this band there is an element of starting again and just building it up, almost person by person. We have been building, building, building, and I think in the last couple of years we've really tried to do that, to increase the number of dates. This year we're playing the most gigs that we've ever done in a year. And it's great fun. It's very different world now to what it was when John started. Back then it was a world of record labels and album sales but now it's a much less stable industry. Now it's much more of a family business and much less of a master-servant dynamic. We have enjoyed what we have done in our ten years.”

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thepiper/2011112