Trevor Bolder

Years active 1963–2013
Label RCA
Formerly of
The RatsDavid Bowie BandThe Spiders from MarsMick RonsonUriah HeepWishbone AshCybernauts

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.

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 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) 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".