According to Guitar World: "Hackett's early explorations of two-handed tapping and sweep picking were far ahead of their time, and influenced Eddie Van Halen and Brian May.

He has a younger brother John who took up the flute and has performed, collaborated and written with Hackett throughout his solo career, and helped compose some of the early Genesis songs uncredited including "Get 'Em Out by Friday" and "Cuckoo Cocoon".

[7] Hackett grew up having access to various musical instruments, such as the harmonica and recorder, but he did not develop an interest in the guitar until the age of 12 when he started playing single notes.

[8] Hackett also has cited numerous British blues artists as influences, namely Danny Kirwan, Peter Green and various guitarists in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, as well as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles and King Crimson.

Rutherford later confessed that the reason Genesis had been having such a hard time finding a guitarist was that he was looking for someone with the same style and personality as Phillips, and that had he not been sick that day, Hackett would probably not have passed the audition.

His guitar work is prominently featured through solos on "The Musical Box", "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" and "The Fountain of Salmacis", and despite the fact that much of the material had been written by the time he joined Genesis, he made considerable contributions to the songwriting.

[20] 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.

[21] 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".

"[23] 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.

The album contains various musical styles, including straightforward and progressive rock, folk, and a wider range of instruments such as a Cantonese koto.

[33] Before Hackett recorded his fourth album Defector, he organised a series of gigs in November 1979, including one in London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, to test out new material.

[33] Hackett found the experience of recording Defector as equal to Spectral Mornings and noted the similarity in music between the two albums, though he considered the material on the latter as some of the strongest of his career.

[3] The album's tour marked a line-up change with John Hackett and Magnus joined by Chas Cronk on bass and Ian Mosley on drums.

[33] After promoting Cured, Hackett received an invitation to form a new trio with Keith Emerson and Jack Bruce, shortly followed by an offer to replace Paul Jones and become lead in a new West End musical production.

In 1983, Hackett had secured a deal with Lamborghini Records which supported the release of his seventh album, Bay of Kings, containing classical guitar compositions.

The album included "When the Heart Rules the Mind", which hit number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest charting US single in Hackett's career.

Hackett's main reason for ending GTR was the lack of funds to continue the project, and his growing desire to pursue a less mainstream career path.

[37] 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".

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".

[37] Released in March 1988, his tour across Europe to promote the album was met with large and enthusiastic crowds which included gigs in Estonia, Russia, and the Soviet Union.

[37] Hackett was pleased that his 1992 North American tour was well attended, and used it to test the strength of some new material that he had been working on to an audience, as well as to promote his first live album, Time Lapse.

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.

Hackett promoted the album with two shows in Tokyo in December 1996 with John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald, and Julian Colbeck.

This marked the beginning of keyboardist, arranger, and producer Roger King taking a more prominent role on Hackett's future albums and live shows.

Hackett said that he had not worked on a project with John for some time and had missed playing with him, leading to his manager Billy Budis to suggest an album of Satie's music.

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.

[51] 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.

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.

[57] 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.

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.