Hackett took chance with wolves

Steve Hackett says he was nervous doing the cover shoot for upcoming album Wolflight.

Speculation has grown that the artwork featuring the Genesis man and four wolves was created using Photoshop. But the guitarist says it’s genuine and that initially he was apprehensive about getting close to the animals.

He says on his website: “People have wondered if I really was with wolves on the cover picture for the forthcoming album Wolflight. The answer is yes I was!

“I felt pretty nervous at first when, on entering a large, grassy area, we were confronted by several full-sized wolves. But the owner reassured me that because they saw him as the alpha male I would’t be harmed. Apparently, it would not have been so safe if he’d not been there.

“Amazingly, the wolves didn’t feel threatened when I picked up a cub and started to play with them. In fact, I had the feeling they were proud that I was so charmed by their little brood. It was even possible to feed the wolves without them biting my hand.”

And he says the only thing that was changed for the final cover art was the colours to reflect the time of day.

He continues: “The main difference between the original photo and the cover is that it was taken in daylight instead of night. The ruin location and the wolves with me are all for real.

“It was an extraordinary day which I’ll always remember. My respect for those wolves and the joy of being invited into their world will remain with me forever.”

Wolflight will launch on March 30 and will be his first original solo work since 2011’s Beyond The Shrouded Horizon.

He’ll take to the road in October across the UK for 19 dates where he’ll showcase music from throughout his career, including tracks from his debut solo album Voyage Of The Acolyte which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Wolflight tracklist

  1. Out Of The Body 2. Wolflight 3. Love Song To A Vampire 4. The Wheel’s Turning 5. Corycian Fire 6. Earthshine 7. Loving Sea 8. Black Thunder 9. Dust And Dreams 10. Heart Song

Tour dates

Oct 06: Guildford GLive

Oct 07: London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Oct 09: Northampton Derngate

Oct 10: Cardiff St David’s Hall

Oct 11: Southampton O2 Guildhall

Oct 13: Basingstoke Anvil

Oct 14: York Barbican

Oct 16: Aberdeen Music Hall

Oct 17: Gateshead Sage

Oct 18: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Oct 20: Leeds Town Hall

Oct 21: Llandudno Venue Cymru

Oct 23: Liverpool Philharmonic

Oct 24: Leicester De Montford Hall

Oct 25: Salford Lowry

Oct 27: Ipswich Regent Theatre

Oct 28: Bristol Colston Hall

Oct 30: Birmingham Symphony Hall

Oct 31: Southend Cliffs Pavilion

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.