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 cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. 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 for ...

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 (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

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 southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, 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 The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

on their own H&S Records, entitled '' Breaking Loose'' and '' White Lace & Black Leather'', in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Helix signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1983 and released '' No Rest for the Wicked''. This album featured Canadian hit

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"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 ''

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'', 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

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in Canada. By the end of the 1980s, Hackman had toured not only all over Canada, United States and England, but even played in

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and

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. 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 List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, 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 North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

. He was 38 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

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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'' (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'' (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'' (1999) *'' Live! in Buffalo'' (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
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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 Canadian guitarists