Trevor Bolder
- Hard rock
- glam rock
- heavy metal
- progressive rock
- R&B (early)
- Musician
- songwriter
- record producer
- Bass
- vocals
- trumpet
- The Rats
- David Bowie Band
- The Spiders from Mars
- Mick Ronson
- Uriah Heep
- Wishbone Ash
- Cybernauts
Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, although he also played alongside a variety of musicians from the early 1970s.
Biography
Bolder was born in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.[1] His father was a trumpet player, and other members of his family too were musicians. He played cornet in the school band[2] and was active in his local R&B scene in the mid-1960s. Inspired by the Beatles, in 1964 he formed his first band with his brother and took up the bass guitar.[3]
He first came to prominence in the Rats, which also featured fellow Hull musician Mick Ronson on lead guitar. In 1971 Bolder was called in to replace Tony Visconti in David Bowie's backing band, which would soon be known as the Spiders from Mars; he subsequently appeared in D. A. Pennebaker's 1973 documentary and concert movie Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. He is name-checked as "Weird" (Bowie's stage nickname for Bolder)[4] in the song "Ziggy Stardust", in the lyrics "Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly, and the Spiders from Mars".[5] Bolder "never looked comfortable as a glam-rock mannequin, tottering behind Ziggy Stardust in platform boots and a rainbow-hued outfit of latex and glitter".[3]
Bolder's bass (and occasional trumpet) work appeared on the studio albums Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Pin Ups (1973), the Spiders' swan song with their leader.[1][6] He went on to play on Mick Ronson's 1974 album Slaughter on 10th Avenue which made the British Top Ten.
In 1976 Bolder joined Uriah Heep, replacing John Wetton. He worked on the albums Firefly, Innocent Victim, Fallen Angel and Conquest; when the line-up that had recorded the latter disbanded, he alone remained, along with Mick Box, guitarist, founder member, and legal owner of the band's name. The attempt to put a new line-up together temporarily stalled; and Bolder, needing to earn a living, accepted an offer in 1981 to join Wishbone Ash. Bolder had, coincidentally, again swapped places with John Wetton, becoming Wishbone Ash's bass player for their 1982 album Twin Barrels Burning. It was another short-lived connection, as by 1983 he returned to the rhythm section with Uriah Heep, playing on the Head First tour (although Bob Daisley played on the album) and all subsequent studio albums up to and including Into the Wild.[6]
As well as his usual bass-playing and backing-vocal duties, Bolder produced Heep's 1991 album Different World.[7]
In 2012 and early 2013, Bolder worked with Stevie ZeSuicide (Steve Roberts of the band U.K. Subs) as producer on singles "Wild Trash" (co-writer with ZeSuicide), "Lady Rocker" and a cover of "Ziggy Stardust".[8] Bolder also played on these tracks.
Bolder died in May 2013 at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham from cancer, aged 62.[9] He had undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer earlier that year.[10]
Discography
- Solo
- Sail the Rivers 2012-2013 (2020)
- With David Bowie
- Hunky Dory (1971)
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
- Aladdin Sane (1973)
- Pin Ups (1973)
- Ziggy Stardust – The Motion Picture (recorded live 1973, released 1983)
- Santa Monica '72 (recorded live 1972, released 1994)
- With Cybernauts
- Cybernauts Live
- With Dana Gillespie
- Weren't Born a Man
- With Ken Hensley
- Free Spirit (1980)
- From Time to Time (1994)
- With Mick Ronson
- Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974)
- Play Don't Worry (1975)
- Memorial Concert (1997)
- Main Man (1998)
- Spiders From Mars (1976)
- With Uriah Heep
- Firefly (1977)
- Innocent Victim (1977)
- Fallen Angel (1978)
- Conquest (1980)
- Equator (1985)
- Live in Europe 1979 (1986)
- Live in Moscow (live, 1988)
- Raging Silence (1989)
- Different World (1991)
- Sea of Light (1995)
- Spellbinder (live, 1996)
- Sonic Origami (1998)
- Future Echoes of the Past (live, 2000)
- Acoustically Driven (live, 2001)
- Electrically Driven (live, 2001)
- The Magician's Birthday Party (live, 2002)
- Live in the USA (2003)
- "Magic Night (live, 2004)
- Wake the Sleeper (2008)
- Celebration – Forty Years of Rock (2009)
- Into the Wild (2011)
- Totally Driven (recorded 2000–2001, released 2015)
- With Wishbone Ash
- Twin Barrels Burning (1982)[7]
References
- ^ a b "Biography". nndb.com. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
- ^ "Interview with TREVOR BOLDER (URIAH HEEP)". DMME.net. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Trevor Bolder", The Times (Obituaries), 23 May 2013, p. 67.
- ^ "The Ziggy Stardust Companion: "Ziggy Stardust"". www.5years.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Jamming good with Weird and Gilly / And the Spiders From Mars". Genius. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ a b Hill, Gary. "Trevor Bolder | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Trevor Bolder | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ "Stevie ZeSuicide". Steviezesuicide.com. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ Paul Cockerton (22 May 2013). "Trevor Bolder dead aged 62: David Bowie leads tributes to Spiders From Mars bassist – Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Trevor Bolder dead at 62". Classicrockmagazine.com. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
External links
- Uriah Heep official website
- Interview with Bolder
- Wishbone Ash's official site
- D'Alegria website – TB signature bass
- Trevor Bolder at NNDB [1]
- v
- t
- e
- David Bowie (1967)
- David Bowie (1969)
- The Man Who Sold the World
- Hunky Dory
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- Aladdin Sane
- Pin Ups
- Diamond Dogs
- Young Americans
- Station to Station
- Low
- "Heroes"
- Lodger
- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
- Let's Dance
- Tonight
- Never Let Me Down
- Black Tie White Noise
- The Buddha of Suburbia
- Outside
- Earthling
- Hours
- Heathen
- Reality
- The Next Day
- Blackstar
- Toy
With Tin Machine |
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- David Live
- Stage
- Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture
- Santa Monica '72
- LiveAndWell.com
- Glass Spider
- Live Santa Monica '72
- VH1 Storytellers
- Bowie at the Beeb
- A Reality Tour
- Live Nassau Coliseum '76
- Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)
- Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)
- Serious Moonlight (Live '83)
- Glastonbury 2000
- ChangesNowBowie
- Ouvrez le Chien (Live Dallas 95)
- Something in the Air (Live Paris 99)
- I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
- No Trendy Réchauffé (Live Birmingham 95)
- Look at the Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)
- David Bowie at the Kit Kat Klub (Live New York 99)
With Tin Machine |
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- Christiane F.
- Love You till Tuesday
- Labyrinth
- Lazarus
- Moonage Daydream
- Baal
- BBC Sessions 1969–1972
- Earthling in the City
- Live EP (Live at Fashion Rocks)
- Space Oddity
- The Next Day Extra
- No Plan
- Is It Any Wonder?
- The World of David Bowie
- Images 1966–1967
- Changesonebowie
- The Best of Bowie
- Changestwobowie
- Rare
- Golden Years
- Fame and Fashion
- Changesbowie
- Early On (1964–1966)
- The Singles Collection
- Rarestonebowie
- The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
- The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974
- The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979
- Bowie at the Beeb
- All Saints
- Best of Bowie
- Club Bowie
- The Collection
- The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
- iSelect
- Nothing Has Changed
- Legacy
- Sound + Vision
- The Platinum Collection
- David Bowie
- Five Years (1969–1973)
- Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)
- A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
- Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
- Spying Through a Keyhole
- Clareville Grove Demos
- The 'Mercury' Demos
- Conversation Piece
- Brilliant Live Adventures
- Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
- The 1980 Floor Show
- Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- Serious Moonlight
- Glass Spider
- Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby
- VH1 Storytellers
- Reality: Tour Ed.
- A Reality Tour
- Glastonbury 2000
- Love You till Tuesday
- Video EP
- Jazzin' for Blue Jean
- Day-In Day-Out
- Tin Machine
- Bowie – The Video Collection
- Black Tie White Noise
- Jump: Interactive CD-ROM
- Best of Bowie
- Reality
- The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
- The Next Day Extra
- Cracked Actor
- Ricochet
- Black Tie White Noise
- Sound and Vision
- Moonage Daydream
With Tin Machine |
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- Major Tom
- The Thin White Duke
- Ziggy Stardust
culture
- "Bowie"
- David Bowie Is
- Jareth
- Phillip Jeffries
- Statue of David Bowie
- Lazarus
- Stardust
- Symphony No. 1 "Low"
- Symphony No. 4 "Heroes"
- Symphony No. 12 "Lodger"
- The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
- We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie
- Category