Hyde (musician)

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Hyde
Hyde performing with Vamps in New York City, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Hideto Takarai (寶井 秀人)[1]
Also known as	HYDE P'UNK HYDE DARK
Born	(1969-01-29) January 29, 1969 (age 55) Wakayama, Japan
Origin	Osaka, Japan
Genres	Alternative rock hard rock pop rock
Occupations	Musician singer-songwriter record producer actor
Instruments	Vocals guitar keyboards saxophone harmonica
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Ki/oon/Haunted Gan-Shin(EU) Tofu(US)
Member of	L'Arc-en-Ciel The Last Rockstars
Formerly of	Vamps
Website	hyde.com

Hideto Takarai (寶井 秀人, Takarai Hideto, born January 29, 1969, in Wakayama, Japan),^[1] known by his stage name Hyde (stylized in upper or lowercase), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1991, he is also the lead vocalist of Vamps and has a solo career.

Hyde rose to fame in the 1990s as part of L'Arc-en-Ciel, who have sold over 40 million records and were the first Japanese act to perform a solo show at Madison Square Garden.^[2] He began a successful solo career in 2001, releasing several number one singles, and many of his albums have reached the top five on the Oricon chart. In 2008, Hyde teamed up with K.A.Z to form the hard rock duo Vamps.

Through both his solo career and Vamps, Hyde has collaborated/toured with artists such as Apocalyptica, Motionless in White, Starset, Yoshiki, Sixx:A.M., In This Moment, and Danzig, and producers such as Kane Churko, Nicholas Furlong, Drew Fulk, and Howard Benson.