Q&A

The Yorkshire-based flautist, composer, guitarist and singer used his 2020 downtime as an opportunity to make new solo album The Piper Plays His Tune. He tells Prog how the early Hackett domestic arrangements were a major influence in its recording.

Words: Alison Reijman Portrait: Howard Sinclair

With a musical career spanning almost 50 years, John Hackett is one of prog’s ‘go to’ flute players, appearing on albums by musicians such as Anthony Phillips, Nick Magnus and most recently, Ms Amy Birks. He’s collaborated on and recorded several classical albums as a solo artist, in duets or bands, including Symbiosis, and these days he records and tours with his own eponymous band, but it’s his contributions to elder brother Steve’s albums for which he’s best known.

What’s the story behind The Piper Plays His Tune?

I did it for fun and to help keep myself sane during lockdown. It also goes back to the early days when the Hackett family were living in a small flat in Victoria, London, when I shared a bedroom with my brother. In the 1960s, our dad worked in an office then started selling his paintings on the railings in Bayswater Road. He started making more money selling his paintings, so he chucked in his office job and took over the family lounge, painting in there while Steve and I were in our bedroom making and listening to music. Of course, when you’re growing up, these things seem perfectly normal.