Trevor Bolder's Ricks

[grayk]

Scott, I know I name dropped a bit when mentioning living near Trevor and having played the same bill as him but I am going to have do a bit more seeing as Mick Ronson was mentioned. I am currently in a Pogues tribute band with a guy called Benny Marshall (he plays the banjo) who used to be the Vocalist with Ronsons band The Rats previous to him linking up with Bowie. Benny can boast that he played on Bowies Space Oddity. He was also Ronsons best friend so he used to go to a lot of the gigs and Bowie used to get him up on stage in the early days to play the harmonica. He can tell some great stories for sure. The one I like best was when he was asleep in his van in Ronsons London mews house garage (that he was sharing with Ronnie Wood!!) to be awoken by Keith Moon tugging his toe asking "wheres the party?" Hes a lovely guy and very quiet so he has to be in the right mood to part with his past. He also has the kudos of being able to say he replaced Bowie (for a short period) in a band also. The Hype was a band that Bowie, Ronno,Tony Visconti and Woody Woodmansey tried to get going but it stalled so Ronno tried to get it working with Benny insted of Bowie ! It didnt work and before long Ronno was back with Bowie. Benny was in regular contact with Ronno until his death.

[rikk]

Keith, thanks for sharing. Name drop all you want. It's nice to hear the old rock stories. It's NEVER going to be the same again. Can you imagine 30+ years from now people will be saying "I was there when Britney shaved her head, or Justin Timberlake did so and so...." Who is going to care?

[herk]

keith...name dropping is just fine. that's a very interesting bandmate you have there and i'm sure he would have some great stories. at the mick ronson website there is some photos of benny marshall and quotes including one where he mentions ronson getting floored by a nasty shock off a microphone. thank goodness he survived that.
good luck with your band and feel free to share more.

I'm gonna try to seek out some "rats" material.

[johnallg]

The Bowie stuff always sounds good to me.

So much wonderful stuff out there in the early to mid 70's in terms of melody and feel from so many guys.

Between the late 60s and the early 70s, that for me was what made the later 70s soft rock and disco so hard to tolerate.

[mgauction]

John - Exactly right! That's why I say to bring on all the reunion concerts you want.

[grayk]

Scott, Yes I knew of Ronno getting a nasty shock on stage, I think it is quite well documented. It did in fact nearly kill him and he ended up in hospital with a few burns. I have played the same venue a few times, I dare say the electric supply will have been improved by then though. Another thing to point out is that The Rats did an album.... Its title - Bernie Gripplestone and The Rats from Hull. Does that seem a familiar format for an album title ?

Its a bit ironic really talking about Bowie and Trevor Bolder. There is a Bowie lookalike and semi (I say this loosely) soundalike in our City, and he has put together a Tribute act to Bowie. I am also in a Kinks Tribute and the Vocalist is a bass player also. He has just joined the Bowie Tribute on bass and they are about to do a couple of dates in Holland. He today asked me if he could borrow my Ric for it. Hes a nice guy and a mate but I had to say sorry but no ! You lot can all appreciate that. I reassured this guy that Trevor hardly used it and probably only for promotional reasons ! Hes going to stick to his P-bass. I think he wants a Gibson though, which would suit the job better.

[gareth]

He's a vastly underated bassist. He was one of the bass players that atracted me to the instrument in the first place. I always remember him playing a Precision with the Spiders though. It was the bass line to John I'm only Dancing that first stuck out for me. I still love the asecending scale he plays in it. These days, he plays his own signature bass.

http://www.dalegria.com/en/products_sig ... dertb.html

And of course, like everyone else on the planet, he has his own Myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/trevorbolder

[aceonbass]

Trevor's signature bass looks like just another P-bass copy. Is the whole world stuck on Fender or what?

[heinpete]

What is actually the difference between his old modded P-Bass and the D'Alegria model other than the worn up finish and the slightly different headstock?

[aceonbass]

He probably got the bass with his name on it for free. We RIC fan(atics) can be pretty sensitive about copies, even if they are copies of Fenders.

[grayk]

Peter, I would think Trevor will be supplied with a couple or three "freebies" for using his name. The difference in sound will probably be significant as these signature D'Alegria basses are active. I dont see that they have been given the "worn up finish" look though ? My bet is that he will still use his Fenders most of the time !

[heinpete]

There is a J-PU in the bridge position of Trevor's "original" Fender P-Bass, might be an EMG, so also active!