Defector (Steve Hackett album)

Defector
Studio album by
Released13 June 1980
RecordedSpring 1980
StudioWessex Sound Studios
(Highbury, London)
GenreProgressive rock
Length36:52
LabelCharisma (UK, Europe & Japan)
Mercury (United States)
Producer
  • Steve Hackett
  • John Acock
Steve Hackett chronology
Spectral Mornings
(1979)
Defector
(1980)
Cured
(1981)

Defector is the fourth studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in June 1980 on Charisma Records. After touring in support of his previous album, Spectral Mornings (1979), Hackett took his band into Wessex Sound Studios to record a follow-up.

The album remains Hackett's highest charting album on the UK Albums Chart, reaching No. 9. "The Show" was released as a single. In 2005, Defector was remastered and re-released on Virgin Records. The new edition features updated liner notes and five bonus tracks. A surround mix was included in the Premonitions: The Charisma Recordings 1975–1983 box set.