[3] He lists some of his influences as The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin,[8] Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead and Can.

[10][11] He recalled that his family "loved music" and driving on caravan holidays in the car would be punctuated by the sounds of Bee Gees, Elton John, ELO and The Beatles.

[13] Hewitt began his career in the North West of England, playing with his brother Nick in Misadventure, before leaving in 1988 to join The Mystic Deckchairs.

[17] Following the completion of the tour, Hewitt joined The Boo Radleys on a temporary basis and played on the band's 1990 debut album, Ichabod and I.

[18][19] Despite a support slot on Nick Cave's Let Love In tour, Breed found commercial success elusive and following a disastrous gig at the Bull & Gate in London in 1996, the band split.

[17] The need for money during these years saw Hewitt take on session work in London, recording jingles and appearing on releases by Baby June and Sharkboy.

[26] Hewitt appeared in the video for the band's 1997 "Nancy Boy" single with his face blurred out, because he was still under contract to a different record label.

[23] Hewitt drummed and contributed to the songwriting on subsequent albums Black Market Music (2000), Sleeping with Ghosts (2003) and Meds (2006) with the band.

[31] He contributed drums, guitars, piano and lead vocals to the album and enlisted Jon Thorne and Donald Ross Skinner as collaborators.

[43] The album, titled Love and Peace and Sympathy, was released on 16 April 2013 and the band embarked on a UK tour in mid-2013,[44][non-primary source needed] which included a slot at Glastonbury Festival.

[45] Hewitt's year was ended by a broken arm suffered in October 2013, which caused him to miss an in-store signing at Fopp in Nottingham and a performance at Soundedit Festival.

[46][non-primary source needed][47] Chris Olley reported on his blog in May 2014 that he had recorded a new Six by Seven album by himself,[48] which hinted that Hewitt had left the band.