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 Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...

, the backing band for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, although he also played alongside a variety of musicians from the early 1970s.

Biography

Bolder was born in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south- ...

, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. His father was a trumpet player, and other members of his family too were musicians. He played

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...

in the school band and was active in his local R&B scene in the mid-1960s. Inspired by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, in 1964 he formed his first band with his brother and took up the bass guitar. He first came to prominence in the Rats, which also featured fellow Hull musician

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

on lead guitar. In 1971 Bolder was called in to replace

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

in David Bowie's backing band, which would soon be known as the Spiders from Mars; he subsequently appeared in

D. A. Pennebaker Donn Alan Pennebaker (; July 15, 1925 – August 1, 2019) was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ...

's 1973 documentary and concert movie ''

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...

''. He is name-checked as "Weird" (Bowie's stage nickname for Bolder) in the song " Ziggy Stardust", in the lyrics "Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly, and the Spiders from Mars". 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"."Trevor Bolder", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (Obituaries), 23 May 2013, p. 67. Bolder's bass (and occasional trumpet) work appeared on the studio albums ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...

'' (1971), ''

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...

'' (1972), '' Aladdin Sane'' (1973), and ''

Pin Ups ''Pin Ups'' (also referred to as ''Pinups'' and ''Pin-Ups'') is the seventh studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 19October 1973 through RCA Records. Devised as a "stop-gap" album to appease his record label, it is a cover ...

'' (1973), the Spiders' swan song with their leader. He went on to play on Mick Ronson's 1974 album '' Slaughter on 10th Avenue'' which made the British Top Ten. Trevor Bolder

In 1976 Bolder joined Uriah Heep, replacing

John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and p ...

. He worked on the albums ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'', ''

Innocent Victim ''Innocent Victim'' is the 11th studio album by British hard rock band Uriah Heep, released in November 1977 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. Although it did not chart in the US or UK, ''Innocent Victim'' went on ...

'', ''

Fallen Angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...

'' and ''

Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

''; when the line-up that had recorded the latter disbanded, he alone remained, along with

Mick Box Michael Frederick Box (born 9 June 1947) is an English musician who is the lead guitarist of rock group Uriah Heep, having previously been a member of The Stalkers and Spice, both with original Uriah Heep vocalist David Byron.Larkin, Colin (20 ...

, 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 Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...

. Trevor had, coincidentally, again swapped places with John Wetton, becoming Wishbone Ash's bass player for their 1982 album ''

Twin Barrels Burning ''Twin Barrels Burning'' is the twelfth studio album by British rock band Wishbone Ash. It was recorded at Sol Studios and released in 1982. It was the highest charting Wishbone Ash album since 1976, reaching No. 22 in the UK Albums Chart. Con ...

''. It was another short-lived connection, as by 1983 he returned to the

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

with Uriah Heep, playing on the ''

Head First Head First or Headfirst may refer to: Music * ''Head First'' (The Babys album) (1979) * ''Head First'' (Badfinger album) (recorded 1974, released 2000) * ''Head First'' (Goldfrapp album) (2010), or its title track * ''Head First'' (Uriah Hee ...

'' tour (although

Bob Daisley Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is a retired Australian bass guitarist. He has collaborated on several occasions with Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, backing vocals, co-production and songwriting. He has also worked wi ...

played on the album) and all subsequent studio albums up to and including '' Into the Wild''. As well as his usual bass-playing and backing-vocal duties, Bolder also produced Heep's 1991 album '' Different World''. In 2012 and early 2013, Bolder worked with Stevie ZeSuicide (Steve Roberts of the band

U.K. Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

) as producer on singles "Wild Trash" (co-writer with ZeSuicide), "Lady Rocker" and a cover of "Ziggy Stardust". Bolder also played on these tracks. Bolder died in May 2013 at

Castle Hill Hospital Castle Hill Hospital is an NHS hospital to the west of Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, and is run by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. History Hull Sanatorium, designed by Joseph Hirst, was built on the site of Co ...

in Cottingham from cancer, aged 62. He had undergone surgery for

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

earlier that year.

Discography

;Solo *''Sail the Rivers 2012-2013'' (2020) ;With

*''

'' (1971) *''

'' (1972) *'' Aladdin Sane'' (1973) *''

'' (1973) *''

Ziggy Stardust – The Motion Picture ''Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture'' is a live album by English musician David Bowie, released in October 1983 in conjunction with the film of the same name. The music was recorded during the Ziggy Stardust Tour at the Hammersmith Odeon in ...

'' (recorded live 1973, released 1983) *''

Santa Monica '72 ''Santa Monica '72'' is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust Tour. Taken from KMET (FM), KMET FM's radio broadcast,Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: ...

'' (recorded live 1972, released 1994) ;With

Cybernauts Cybernauts were a David Bowie cover band, formed as a tribute to Mick Ronson, featuring Def Leppard members Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, former Spiders from Mars members Trevor Bolder and Mick "Woody" Woodmansey, and keyboardist/vocalist, Di ...

*''Cybernauts Live'' ;With

Dana Gillespie Dana Gillespie (born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie, 30 March 1949) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved in the recording of over ...

*''Weren't Born a Man'' ;With

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah ...

*''Free Spirit'' (1980) *''From Time to Time'' (1994) ;With

*'' Slaughter on 10th Avenue'' (1974) *''

Play Don't Worry ''Play Don't Worry'' is the second album by English guitarist and singer Mick Ronson, recorded in 1974 and released in January 1975 after his several projects in the early seventies together with David Bowie, Lou Reed and the band the Spiders f ...

'' (1975) *''Memorial Concert'' (1997) *''Main Man'' (1998) ;With

The Spiders from Mars The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...

*''Spiders From Mars'' (1976) ;With Uriah Heep *''

'' (1977) *''

'' (1978) *''

'' (1980) *''

Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

'' (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 ''Wake the Sleeper'' is the 21st studio album by the rock band Uriah Heep, released on 2 June 2008 in Europe and on 26 August 2008 in the United States. The announced September 2007 release was rescheduled (initially to March 2008) as a resul ...

'' (2008) *''

Celebration – Forty Years of Rock ''Celebration – Forty Years of Rock'' is a greatest hits album by British rock band Uriah Heep. It mainly features rerecorded classics – which, said bassist Trevor Bolder, "chose themselves, really. The likes of 'Sunrise', 'Gypsy' and ' L ...

'' (2009) *'' Into the Wild'' (2011) *'' Totally Driven'' (recorded 2000–2001, released 2015) ;With

* ''

'' (1982)

References

External links

Uriah Heep official websiteInterview with BolderWishbone Ash's official site
*Trevor Bolder at NND

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolder, Trevor 1950 births 2013 deaths 20th-century English musicians Musicians from Kingston upon Hull Uriah Heep (band) members Wishbone Ash members Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from pancreatic cancer English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English heavy metal bass guitarists English songwriters English record producers English trumpeters Male trumpeters Glam rock musicians The Spiders from Mars members People from Rowley, East Riding of Yorkshire