Profile of hide Real Name: Hideto Matsumoto DOB: December 19, 1964 Birthplace: Kanagawa, Yokosuka, Japan Blood Type: AB Instruments played: Guitar and Vocals Bands joined: Saber Tiger, X-Japan, Zilch, hide with Spread Beaver

The Webmaster's Views on hide

   Hide, the first time i came across this name, i pronounced it as hide, but it is not so.
The actual pronounciation of this name is "Hee-Day". (have you pronounced it correctly?)

   He did not create much impresssion the first time i saw him till i saw him on guitar during a video clip of "The Last Song".
I was very impressed by the way he plays the guitar with feelings. It is indeed a master at work! Being the lead guitarist of Xjapan,
he has played many of their guitar solos, which every of them has left a deep impression in me!
There's only one word to represent his solos -> Feelings. Well, for every musician around, we all know that you can play however well,
but if you play without feelings, it wouldn't impact much people. Through the listening of Hide's music and his guitar solos,
i have enjoyed the true and very essence of playing the guitar (but haven't really attained that level yet.. *sigh* ).

Well, perhaps i'll end here for the time being, but in my and i know your heart too, Hide has been the best guitarist ever lived.
If you haven't listened to his solos, Shame on you! hehehe.... well, read on and find out more about hide and his works!
For more images of him, you can check out my memorial gallery of Xjapan!

Life of Hide

   When hide enrolled in primary school, he was overweight and was teased by his classmates and was an outcast He was determined to lose weight, while doing so he realised that personal responsibility was more important than what other peoples opinions were, that made him reluctant to express himself to other people. hide started to like Rock Music in Secondary 2, when he listened to Kiss.
hide bought his first guitar in Secondary 3, it was a Gibson guitar and his classmates gave him the nickname "Gibson".

   In high school, hide formed his first band, Saber Tiger, and it was banned by the school Saber Tiger prefomed in Live Houses in Tokyo to hone their skills Saber Tiger could not hold itself together, members kept quitting and hide was strict to the other members. hide was not a sociable person, and the other members lacked focus and they alwasy argued with each other.

   After Saber Tiger broke up hide went to study in a costume school. When hide was close to graduating, he received a phone call, it was Yoshiki, leader of another Indies band, X, which was about to break up due to a member loss. Yoshiki asked hide to join X, and hide replied with one word "fine."

hide does spell his name with a lower case "h".

About hide's death

His family found him in his apartment's bedroom in Minami-Azabu (Noah's Ark), Minato-ku in Tokyo. hide was tranferred to the hospital immediately, but was pronounced dead at 8:52am. According to the investigation, hide was discovered hanging by the neck from a towel tied to a doorknob. hide had just gone home that day at 6:30 in the morning. Drunk when arriving home, it was thought he went to sleep, but after an hour his family noticed something strange. They did not find any suicide letter. He was 33.

Yoshiki's message from an interview at Tsukiji-Honganji on May 4th:

I'm very shocked by his sudden death. I still can't believe it.
[He looks like] he is sleeping with a very beautiful face. I tried to wake him up again and again, but he is still sleeping.
Hide was the calmest person in our band. He always gave me calm and accurate advice - although I was the leader,
I was short-tempered and acted impulsively.
Of course, he sometimes lost his way under pressure, but he always called me at those times.
We talked about everything -- our band, music, friends, life, fans.
Sometimes he was like my older brother; sometimes, like my younger brother.
Sometimes we got drunk and fought, but the next day he always said, "Yoshiki, what did I do yesterday? Sorry, I don't remember anything."
However, he went to sleep without saying anything. All his fans, and all his friends, I think everyone is confused now.
I cannot express my grief, but we must accept this because we cannot change anything.
....... Please see him off to Heaven warmly.

X-Japan's leader, Yoshiki