Paul Hackman
Encyclopedia
Paul Wayne Hackman was a Canadian
guitarist
who performed with the rock band
Helix
from 1976 until his death in a road accident. Among the hits which contain his playing are the #32 Canadian single "Rock You
" and the #20 mainstream Canadian rock single "Deep Cuts the Knife", which he co-wrote with Bob Halligan, Jr..
city of St. Thomas
, Paul Hackman played in two local bands, Whitehorse and Purple Wedge. He joined Helix in 1976 when original keyboardist Don Simmons handed in his resignation. Hackman saw an ad for a replacement keyboard player in the newspaper and contacted Helix manager William Seip. Hackman informed Seip that he too had been searching for a keyboard player for his own band, and hadn't found one in six months. He convinced Seip to let him audition as a new guitar player, which took place at the Seip farm in Baden
, a small Ontario community. Hackman was offered the gig, and according to lead vocalist Brian Vollmer
, "our sound became heavier and more aggressive."
Helix released two independent albums on their own H&S Records, entitled Breaking Loose
and White Lace & Black Leather
, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Helix signed with Capitol Records
in 1983 and released No Rest for the Wicked
. This album featured Canadian hit video
"Heavy Metal Love", which Hackman and Vollmer co-wrote. Long Way to Heaven
, featuring Hackman's "Deep Cuts The Knife", followed in 1985. In 1986, another Hackman co-write, "It's Too Late" from the movie soundtrack to Iron Eagle
, was released. The 1987 album Wild in the Streets was considered a disappointment by Capitol Records, only managing an unexpectedly low #179 on the Billboard 200
in the United States
, although the album did go gold in Canada. By the end of the 1980s, Hackman had toured not only all over Canada, United States and England
, but even played in Sweden
and Trinidad
. In 1990, after a short break, Helix released what would turn out to be its final album with Hackman, Back for Another Taste
, for which Hackman and Vollmer co-wrote "Runnin' Wild In The 21st Century".
was booked for the 1992 summer touring season. On July 5, following a concert in Vancouver
, the group's van veered off and rolled down a 40-foot embankment and Paul Hackman, asleep in a seat behind the driver, was thrown from the vehicle and died upon being taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Kamloops. He was 40 years old and lived with his wife, Connie in Port Franks, a village in his native Southwestern Ontario.
After Hackman's death, Vollmer released the solo album he was working on as the next Helix album, It's a Business Doing Pleasure
, in 1993. He included the song "That Day Is Gonna Come" as a tribute to Hackman, with the song's video featuring unique Super 8
and video footage shot by Vollmer on the road over the years.
Hackman's most enduring song, "Heavy Metal Love", was resurrected for the Trailer Park Boys
movie The Big Dirty. The then-current version of Helix later re-recorded the song and included it on their 2006 EP
Get Up!.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
who performed with the rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Helix
Helix (band)
Helix are a Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band. They formed in 1974, and are best known for their 1984 single "Rock You". The original lineup was formed by drummer Bruce Arnold, and consisted of lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, keyboardist Don...
from 1976 until his death in a road accident. Among the hits which contain his playing are the #32 Canadian single "Rock You
Rock You
Sum 41 covered this Helix song for the soundtrack to the movie Fubar. The soundtrack featured classic Canadian rock songs covered by current Canadian rock artists.-Personnel:* Steve Jocz - Vocals* Jason "Cone" McCaslin - Bass* Dave "Brownsound" Baksh - Guitar...
" and the #20 mainstream Canadian rock single "Deep Cuts the Knife", which he co-wrote with Bob Halligan, Jr..
Career with Helix
A native of the Southwestern OntarioSouthwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, centred on the city of London. It extends north to south from the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron to the Lake Erie shoreline, and east to south-west roughly from Guelph to Windsor. The region had a population...
city of St. Thomas
St. Thomas, Ontario
St. Thomas is a city in southern , Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.-History:...
, Paul Hackman played in two local bands, Whitehorse and Purple Wedge. He joined Helix in 1976 when original keyboardist Don Simmons handed in his resignation. Hackman saw an ad for a replacement keyboard player in the newspaper and contacted Helix manager William Seip. Hackman informed Seip that he too had been searching for a keyboard player for his own band, and hadn't found one in six months. He convinced Seip to let him audition as a new guitar player, which took place at the Seip farm in Baden
Baden, Ontario
Baden is a community in Township of Wilmot, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It has a population of less than 1000 and was named after Baden-Baden in Germany...
, a small Ontario community. Hackman was offered the gig, and according to lead vocalist Brian Vollmer
Brian Vollmer
Brian Vollmer is the lead singer and only remaining original member of Canadian hard rock group Helix. Helix was formed in 1974 by original drummer Bruce Arnold. Since that time, Vollmer had gone from lead singer to defacto leader of band, weathering numerous lineup changes...
, "our sound became heavier and more aggressive."
Helix released two independent albums on their own H&S Records, entitled Breaking Loose
Breaking Loose (Helix album)
Breaking Loose was the first independent album by the Canadian rock band Helix. It was released in 1979. Joe Anthony from KISS FM in San Antonio, Texas began playing "You're A Woman Now" which enabled the band to play there for the first time. It also featured "Billy Oxygen" written and sung by...
and White Lace & Black Leather
White Lace & Black Leather
White Lace & Black Leather was the second independent album by the Canadian rock band Helix. It was released in 1981. It is their first album featuring bassist Mike Uzelac and only album with drummer Leo Niebudek...
, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Helix signed with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 1983 and released No Rest for the Wicked
No Rest for the Wicked (Helix album)
No Rest for the Wicked is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band Helix. It is also their major label debut, on Capitol Records.- Track list :All songs written by Helix except where noted# "Does a Fool Ever Learn" No Rest for the Wicked is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band...
. This album featured Canadian hit video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
"Heavy Metal Love", which Hackman and Vollmer co-wrote. Long Way to Heaven
Long Way to Heaven
Long Way to Heaven is the fifth studio album by the Canadian heavy metal band Helix. This album was their third for Capitol Records, and there were bigger expectations from the band after the success of the previous Walkin' the Razor's Edge . The first single was "Deep Cuts the Knife", a co-write...
, featuring Hackman's "Deep Cuts The Knife", followed in 1985. In 1986, another Hackman co-write, "It's Too Late" from the movie soundtrack to Iron Eagle
Iron Eagle
Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett, Jr. While it received mixed reviews, the film earned US$24,159,872 at the U.S. box office. Iron Eagle was followed by three sequels: Iron Eagle II, Aces: Iron Eagle III and Iron Eagle on the...
, was released. The 1987 album Wild in the Streets was considered a disappointment by Capitol Records, only managing an unexpectedly low #179 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, although the album did go gold in Canada. By the end of the 1980s, Hackman had toured not only all over Canada, United States and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, but even played in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. In 1990, after a short break, Helix released what would turn out to be its final album with Hackman, Back for Another Taste
Back for Another Taste
Back For Another Taste was the 7th Helix studio album and 8th album altogether. It was also their last album of their original Capitol Records contract...
, for which Hackman and Vollmer co-wrote "Runnin' Wild In The 21st Century".
Death and legacy
Hackman and Brian Vollmer agreed to take a short break, during which Vollmer would compose songs for a solo album, while Hackman would write for the next Helix CD. A tour of Western CanadaWestern Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
was booked for the 1992 summer touring season. On July 5, following a concert in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, the group's van veered off and rolled down a 40-foot embankment and Paul Hackman, asleep in a seat behind the driver, was thrown from the vehicle and died upon being taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Kamloops. He was 40 years old and lived with his wife, Connie in Port Franks, a village in his native Southwestern Ontario.
After Hackman's death, Vollmer released the solo album he was working on as the next Helix album, It's a Business Doing Pleasure
It's a Business Doing Pleasure
-Credits:Produced by Marc Ribler & Tom TreumuthRecorded at Hypnotic Studios, Toronto, November 1992-Helix:* Brian Vollmer - lead vocals* Brent "The Doctor" Doerner - lead, rhythm & acoustic guitars, background vocals...
, in 1993. He included the song "That Day Is Gonna Come" as a tribute to Hackman, with the song's video featuring unique Super 8
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
and video footage shot by Vollmer on the road over the years.
Hackman's most enduring song, "Heavy Metal Love", was resurrected for the Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
movie The Big Dirty. The then-current version of Helix later re-recorded the song and included it on their 2006 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Get Up!.
Helix albums
- Breaking LooseBreaking Loose (Helix album)Breaking Loose was the first independent album by the Canadian rock band Helix. It was released in 1979. Joe Anthony from KISS FM in San Antonio, Texas began playing "You're A Woman Now" which enabled the band to play there for the first time. It also featured "Billy Oxygen" written and sung by...
(1979) - White Lace & Black LeatherWhite Lace & Black LeatherWhite Lace & Black Leather was the second independent album by the Canadian rock band Helix. It was released in 1981. It is their first album featuring bassist Mike Uzelac and only album with drummer Leo Niebudek...
(1981) - No Rest for the WickedNo Rest for the Wicked (Helix album)No Rest for the Wicked is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band Helix. It is also their major label debut, on Capitol Records.- Track list :All songs written by Helix except where noted# "Does a Fool Ever Learn" No Rest for the Wicked is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band...
(1983) - Walkin' the Razor's EdgeWalkin' the Razor's EdgeWalkin' the Razor's Edge was the fourth album by the Canadian heavy metal band Helix. It was released on the Capitol Records label in 1984.A music video was made for the Crazy Elephant cover "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'"...
(1984) - Live At The Marquee (1984) (Promotional live EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
) - Long Way to HeavenLong Way to HeavenLong Way to Heaven is the fifth studio album by the Canadian heavy metal band Helix. This album was their third for Capitol Records, and there were bigger expectations from the band after the success of the previous Walkin' the Razor's Edge . The first single was "Deep Cuts the Knife", a co-write...
(1985) - Wild in the Streets (1987)
- Back for Another TasteBack for Another TasteBack For Another Taste was the 7th Helix studio album and 8th album altogether. It was also their last album of their original Capitol Records contract...
(1990)
Helix compilations
- Over 60 minutes with...Over 60 minutes with...Over 60 Minutes With... is the 7th album release by Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band Helix. Their first-ever compilation, it collects music from their first three Capitol Records albums but includes nothing from 1987's Wild in the Streets. It was released on CD only...
(1989) - The Early YearsThe Early Years (Helix album)The Early Years was the ninth Helix album and their second compilation album, issued in 1991. It reissued all the tracks from the band's first two independent albums, Breaking Loose and White Lace & Black Leather , with new cover art...
(1991) (Reissue of first two albums)
Posthumous Helix albums
- half-ALIVEHalf-ALIVEhalf-ALIVE was the first official live album by Canadian heavy metal band Helix, following the promotional-only Live At The Marquee. It was also their 11th album altogether and featured five new studio songs...
(1998) - Deep Cuts: the Best OfDeep Cuts: the Best OfDeep Cuts is a compilation album by the Canadian hard rock band Helix. It is their 12th official release, and their third compilation album...
(1999) (Compilation) - B-SidesB-Sides (Helix album)B-Sides is a compilation album by the Canadian hard rock band Helix. It is their 13th official release, and their fourth compilation album. Despite the title, it actually consists of no b-sides. It was released in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Helix, and featured a reunion of...
(1999) - Live! in BuffaloLive! in BuffaloLive! in Buffalo is a live album by Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band Helix. It was recorded on September 29, 1983 in Buffalo, New York. It is their 14th official release. It includes several songs that were road-tested versions of new tracks that were written for 1984's Walkin' the Razor's...
(2001) (Live)
DVDs
- S.E.X. Rated (DVD 2001, VHS 1991)
- 30 Years Of Helix: No Rest For The Wicked (DVD 2004)