"Radio Cornwall interview with Steve Hackett 5th April 2005". Transcribed by Alan Hewitt.

INT: The Steve Hackett trio is down in Cornwall later this week at the Carnglaze Caverns and Steve is with us on the show, how are you Steve?

SH: Fine thanks, how are you doing?

INT: How is the tour going?

SH: Very good thank you, a bit of a late one yesterday after the London show but it has been going great.

INT: You are down here on Friday down in the venue cut out of the rock. Have you been down before?

SH: I haven't no. Sounds like a Rock & Roll venue doesn't it… terrible joke!

INT: It will be interesting then it is a constant ten degrees in there.

SH: A constant ten degrees, I have heard it can be a bit chilly.

INT: It is a great venue, really intimate and it should suit your music really well.

SH: Wonder what happens if someone starts to light up and smoke?

INT: You're not allowed to (laughs) it takes about four hours for the smoke to clear because you are so far inland and underground you see. So what sort of stuff are you doing now with the trio?

SH: Well, its an acoustic trio and so it is nylon guitar, flute and keyboards we do amplify it of course and so it comes out at times, it depends on the size of the venue as a gigantic acoustic guitar and a gigantic flute and we do stuff that is either written for the trio or the odd classical thing from Erik Satie; the odd Genesis thing and a lot of my material and some stuff that the guys have written in the band.

INT: Is it Roger and John you have got with you?

SH: John Hackett, my brother on flute and Roger King on keyboards.

INT: What's it like working with your brother then?

SH: Very good, no scuffles, very civilised.

INT: And Roger King as well who you have worked with quite a bit, haven't you?

SH: That's right.

INT: With John and Roger both classically trained, is there more of that edge to it?

SH: Well, you know the thing is there's a little bit of Jazz as well and those guys are classically trained but strictly speaking I am not and I loved classical music when I was growing up particularly classical guitar playing but I come from a very eclectic background with the Genesis connection and all that sort of stuff and it is not as dry as coming along to a classical guitar recital.

INT: Do Genesis fans in the audience ever shout out songs for you to play?

SH: Sometimes they do and some of those things are very long and you know one more song: Supper's Ready which is thirty minutes long! (laughs).

INT: So where are you off to this week?

SH: Well, let me see we have been all over the show; we have been up North we have been to Morecambe onwards and upwards we continue to play the rest of the country and we are of to Spain and Italy and Germany might do a bit of Portugal; keep me busy for a long time.

INT: Are you recording at the moment or is it just the live stuff?

SH: Last night we recorded the Queen Elizabeth Hall show and I have got stuff in the wings as it were for another album but it is by no means finished and the thing with touring is you can’t be in two places at once and we are firmly on the road we are doing one nighters everywhere at the moment and there aren't really any breaks so I shall get on with recording once I have recovered from this.

INT: Do you write the material on your own? Do you find that easier?

SH: Well, I write as much as I can on my own and sometimes I have help from the chaps; the two bands; I have a five piece rock band and the trio and there are some very clever guys in that so I throw it open to the team when I have to.

Thanks to "Narnia Lady" for providing the Saga and Radio Cornwall interview recordings and the Radio Caroline interview with John and Nick.