Trevor Bolder 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 one-time 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. His father was a trumpet player and other members of his family were also musicians. He played cornet in the school band 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. He first came to prominence in The Rats, which also featured fellow Hull musician Mick Ronson on lead guitar. In 1971 he 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 movieZiggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. He is name-checked as "Weird" in the song "Ziggy Stardust" in the lyrics "Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Weird and Gilly, And The Spiders from Mars". Trevor "never looked comfortable as a glam-rock mannequin, tottering behind Ziggy Stardust in platform boots and a rainbow-hued outfit of latex and glitter". Bolder's bass work appeared on the studio albums Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Aladdin Sane, and Pin Ups, the Spiders' swan song with their leader. He went on to play on 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, Trevor alone was left 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. Trevor 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 and all albums since. As well as his usual bass playing and backing vocal duties, Bolder also produced Heep's 1991 albumDifferent World. In 2012 and early 2013, Bolder worked with Stevie ZeSuicide as producer on singles "Wild Trash", "Lady Rocker" and a cover of "Ziggy Stardust". Bolder also played on these tracks. Bolder died in May 2013 at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham from cancer. He had undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer earlier that year.
