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Paul Wayne Hackman (November 14, 1953 – July 5, 1992) was a Canadian guitarist who performed with the rock band
Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined hel ...
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.Sleez Roxx profile on Paul Hackman
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Career with Helix

A native of the
Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake ...
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 Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...
, a small Ontario community. Hackman was offered the gig, and according to lead vocalist
Brian Vollmer Brian Vollmer (born June 30, 1955) is the lead singer and only remaining original member of Canadian hard rock group Helix. Since the band's inception in 1974, Vollmer had gone from lead singer to ''de facto'' leader of the band, weathering numer ...
, "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 ''White Lace & Black Leather'' is the second studio album by Canadian hard rock band Helix. Recorded at Springfield Sound in Aylmer, Ontario with producer Lachlan MacFadyen, it was released in 1981 on the band's own label H&S Records. The releas ...
'', in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Helix signed with
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
in 1983 and released '' No Rest for the Wicked''. This album featured Canadian hit
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
"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 A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of ...
to ''
Iron Eagle ''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr.Mann, Roderick"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'."''Los Angeles T ...
'', was released. The 1987 album ''
Wild in the Streets ''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distri ...
'' 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 Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
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 Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
. 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".


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 Canada was booked for the 1992 summer touring season. On July 5, following a concert in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
, 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 Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...
. He was 38 years old and lived with his wife, Connie in
Port Franks Port Franks is a small Southern Ontario community in the municipality of Lambton Shores, Lambton County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located along Kings Highway 21 near Pinery Provincial Park, about north of Thedford, Ontario. Archaeo ...
, 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 ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer ...
movie '' The Big Dirty''. The then-current version of Helix later re-recorded the song and included it on their 2006 EP '' Get Up!''.HELIX – Get Up! CD Now Available
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Discography


Helix albums

*'' Breaking Loose'' (1979) *''
White Lace & Black Leather ''White Lace & Black Leather'' is the second studio album by Canadian hard rock band Helix. Recorded at Springfield Sound in Aylmer, Ontario with producer Lachlan MacFadyen, it was released in 1981 on the band's own label H&S Records. The releas ...
'' (1981) *'' No Rest for the Wicked'' (1983) *'' Walkin' the Razor's Edge'' (1984) *''Live at the Marquee'' (1984) (promotional live EP) *'' Long Way to Heaven'' (1985) *''
Wild in the Streets ''Wild in the Streets'' is a 1968 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Shear and starring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. Based on the short story "The Day It All Happened, Baby!" by Robert Thom, it was distri ...
'' (1987) *'' Back for Another Taste'' (1990)


Helix compilations

*'' Over 60 minutes with...'' (1989) *'' The Early Years'' (1991) (reissue of first two albums)


Posthumous Helix albums

*'' half-ALIVE'' (1998) *'' Deep Cuts: The Best Of'' (1999) (compilation) *''
B-Sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
'' (1999) *''
Live! in Buffalo ''Live! 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 ...
'' (2001) (live)


DVDs

*''S.E.X. Rated'' (DVD 2001, VHS 1991) *''30 Years of Helix: No Rest for the Wicked'' (DVD 2004)


References


External links


Official Helix Website
*
Photographs of Paul Hackman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackman, Paul Canadian guitarists Musicians from Ontario People from St. Thomas, Ontario Road incident deaths in Canada 1952 births 1992 deaths Helix (band) members 20th-century Canadian male musicians Accidental deaths in British Columbia 20th-century guitarists