Steve Hackett Is Open to Another Genesis Reunion, if Anyone Can Agree What That Means

Steve Hackett hasn’t been a member of Genesis for nearly half a century, but the guitarist remains open to a hypothetical reunion—on his own quiet terms. Speaking on the Word In Your Ear podcast, Hackett said, “I’ve always said that if they wanted me to reform, I would do it. I would even play harmonica or do a walk on.”

The offer comes with no obvious blueprint. Hackett, who left the band in 1977 after the Wind & Wuthering tour, questioned which version of Genesis would even be reuniting: the five-man progressive era that shaped musicians, or the streamlined trio behind the band’s biggest singles. “What is a reformation? I don’t know,” he said, pointing to his own orchestral re-recordings as a kind of parallel development.

In practice, the obstacles are plain. Genesis last performed in 2022 on the Last Domino? tour, with Phil Collins visibly diminished. Collins has since told BBC Breakfast he’s healthier than in some time, but no new activity has followed. Meanwhile, a quieter reunion already took place. Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, and original guitarist Anthony Phillips gathered at Air Studios to record memories for the deluxe reissue of 1969’s From Genesis to Revelation, due in October. Hackett, who replaced Phillips in 1971, wasn’t part of it.

The guitarist’s willingness to show up—even for a walk-on—keeps a faint conversation alive, but the band’s history resists tidy returns. For now, the only Genesis reunion on the books is the one Hackett couldn’t join.