Hide

Also known as Hideto Matsumoto, 松本秀人 (Matsumoto Hideto)

Japanese musician (1964–1998)

Person · Open Library

Born: 1860
Died: 1949
Works: 130

Top works

"Spain and England"
Breith Chríosta, dr'ama aon-ghn'imh
The conquests of Charlemagne, edited from the book of Lismore and three other vellum mss
The three sorrows of story-telling
Irische Volksmärchen

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Country: JP
Active from: 1964-12-13
Active to: 1998-05-02

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 123,952
Total plays

Article

Hideto Matsumoto (Japanese: 松本秀人, Hepburn: Matsumoto Hideto; December 13, 1964 – May 2, 1998), known professionally as Hide, was a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1987 to 1997 and rose to prominence in Asia as a solo artist from 1993 to 1998, until his death. He also formed the United States–based rock supergroup Zilch in 1996.

Hide 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, he 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. He 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".