Spread Beaver
| hide | |
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hide performing with X Japan in 1997.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hideto Matsumoto |
| Also known as | hide HIDE |
| Born |
December 13, 1964 Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Died | May 2, 1998 (aged 33) Minami-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1981–1998 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | hide-city |
Hideto Matsumoto (松本 秀人 Matsumoto Hideto, December 13, 1964 – May 2, 1998), better known by his stage name hide, was a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the heavy metal band X Japan. He was also a successful solo artist and co-founder of the United States-based band Zilch.
He sold millions of records, both solo and as a member of X Japan. X Japan rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, credited as founders of the Japanese visual kei movement. When they disbanded in 1997, hide focused on his solo career which started four years prior and went on to enjoy significant popularity. At the height of his fame, while recording his third studio album and about to launch an international career with the newly formed Zilch, he died in 1998 of what was ruled a suicide by hanging. hide was seen as an icon for Japanese youth rebelling against their country's conformist society and his death was labeled "the end of an era."
hide was born in St. Joseph's Hospital in Midorigaoka, Japan, on December 13, 1964 and went on to attend Yokosuka Tokiwa Junior High School. He was first exposed to rock music at the age of fifteen, through the album Alive! by Kiss. That same year his grandmother bought him his first electric guitar, a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe.
On March 11, 1980, hide graduated from Tokiwa Junior High School. He then entered Zushi Kaisei Senior High School in Zushi, Kanagawa, where he entered the school's brass band as a club activity. He quit the band after a short time because he was assigned the clarinet while he wanted to play the trumpet. After this, he concentrated on guitar and in 1981 formed the band Saber Tiger. A year after their founding, they started playing shows at live houses in Yokosuka, such as Rock City.
In April 1983 he started studying cosmetology and fashion at the Hollywood University of Beauty and Fashion in present-day Roppongi Hills, from which he graduated in 1984. Later that year he took a nationwide examination and successfully obtained a beautician license. In July 1985 Saber Tiger released their self-titled EP, which included two songs, "Double Cross" and "Gold Digger". In November, the band contributed the song "Vampire" to the Heavy Metal Force III sampler, which also included songs by X and Jewel. Years later, Jewel's guitarist Kiyoshi would join hide's solo band.
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