Hyde is well known for providing lead vocals for Underworld. He founded the group along with Rick Smith. Karl had a pop band, the Screen Gemz and badgered Rick Smith into joining whilst at Cardiff art college.

In 1983 they recorded two albums for CBS Records International with a proto-electroclash, new romantic band, whose name was a graphic squiggle, which was soon given a pronunciation, Freur.

Freur disbanded in 1986. In 1987 members of Freur created the band Underworld and tried a more guitar-orientated funky electropop sound on two albums for Sire Records before disbanding in 1990. (The Underworld of that period is now often referred to as "Underworld Mk1").

Hyde and Smith are the longest and only original serving members of the musical project and are still together performing today. He is a self-confessed former alcoholic[citation needed], and has been the writer for many of their songs.

He states that the lyrics in the song Born Slippy .NUXX were like that of a drunk, as he was when he was writing the high selling single. Solo career In January 2013 he announced release date for his debut solo album.[1] It was called Edgeland and it was released worldwide on 22 April that year.[2] It was co-produced by Leo Abrahams.[3]

In 2014 Hyde collaborated with English musician and record producer Brian Eno on the album Someday World.[4] The first single from this album, "The Satellites", was released in March 2014.[5] Within weeks of the album's release, it was announced that a second album, High Life, would be released on 30 June (1 July in North America).[6]