GTR, the progressive rock band, earned a lasting place in rock history after being named among the greatest supergroups.
Bringing together members of highly influential bands is an ambitious feat, but only a few supergroups have made a mark on rock music.
From the blues hard rock band Cream to Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Temple of the Dog securing the top three spots, Louder Sound named GTR one of the 20 greatest rock supergroups of all time.
Described by the outlet as a "short-lived mid-80s supergroup," GTR was formed by Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe and fellow musician Steve Hackett, formerly of Genesis.
At the time, Howe had recently left Asia and wanted to create a group that would highlight guitars at the center of its music, hence the band name GTR, a common abbreviation for the instrument.
With a shared vision of creating a guitar-driven band, the two completed the lineup by recruiting Nightwing and Bronz vocalist Max Bacon alongside Toyah's Phil Spalding on bass and Jonathan Mover on drums.
GTR and friends pose for a portrait in Minnesota in 1986.Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
It was in 1986 when they released their debut single, "When the Heart Rules the Mind," which became a huge hit after reaching No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As for their first album, GTR introduced its self-titled debut studio album that same year.
"We were interested in lots of different kinds of music – everything from flamenco to country music – but I think we were trying to make an accessible, rather than impenetrable album," Hackett told Ultimate Classic Guitar, referring to their debut album. "and indeed, it gained a lot of young teenage listeners, right across the board. So we were very lucky to pick that up, considering that we had both come out of very male-orientated listening camps. The people that were into Genesis, at least during the time when I was part of the band in the ‘70s, were mainly male, and I think the same thing [was true] for Yes. It proved that it was possible to cross over and change people’s ideas of what the guitar could do.”
The iconic guitarist revealed that the band spent about two years working on the album, with much of that time spent writing songs and finalizing the lineup, while recording took another nine months.
The album was a commercial success, achieving high sales, and the band even embarked on a U.S. tour with Matt Clifford on keyboards throughout the run.
Two years after forming the supergroup, GTR officially disbanded due to internal issues and Hackett's sudden exit.
In the same report by UCR, Hackett said he knew that the band would never be a "long-term project" for him.
"I realized that it had novelty value. People were going to go out and buy the first album because they wanted to hear what the combination of Genesis and Yes and Asia might sound like. So it was a coming together of separate careers and backgrounds. You know, beyond that, I thought, ‘Everyone’s going to be interested in the first record, but I don’t think anyone’s going to be interested in the second record.’ We had one successful single and the second single flopped and the writing was on the wall.”
On the other hand, Howe believed that the disbandment of GTR was not because of one major conflict but because he and Hackett had "different perspectives," as the latter preferred a more independent approach while Howe favored teamwork.
“However, I don’t blame him for what happened,” Howe added. “If anything, I was more to blame. Maybe I should have done more to accommodate Steve.”
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