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Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band.
Biography
Robin Trower was born in Catford, London, England, and grew up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. In 1962, he formed a band that became the Paramounts, later including Westcliff High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. During this time, Trower created a local three-piece band called the Jam (not to be confused with the later group with Paul Weller).[1] Trower then, in June 1967, joined Brooker's new band Procol Harum following the success of their debut May 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", and remained with them until mid 1971, appearing on the group's first five albums.
Before launching his eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, ex-Stone the Crows bassist/singer James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. This outfit did not record and soon split up.
Trower retained Dewar as his bassist (who also took on lead vocals) and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973. In 1974, the group released Bridge of Sighs.[1] This album, along with his first and third solo album, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher. His early power trio work was noted for Jimi Hendrix influences.[4] Trower is an influential guitarist who has inspired other guitar legends such as Robert Fripp, who praised him for his string bending and the quality of his sounds, and took lessons from him.
In the early 1980s, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummers Lordan and Isidore for two albums, BLT (Bruce, Lordan, Trower) and Truce (Trower, Bruce, Isidore). After those albums, he released another album with James Dewar on vocals titled Back It Up in 1983.[6] Robin Trower was dropped from Chrysalis Records afterwards.
Trower in 1975
Trower was also a part of the Night of the Guitars II European tour in 1991, organized by Sting and The Police manager Miles Copeland. The tour featured Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, Saga's Ian Crichton, Dave Sharman, Jan Akkerman and Laurie Wisefield.
Thirteen albums later, Trower's album Living Out of Time (2003) featured the return of veteran bandmates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums—the same line-up as the mid-1980s albums Passion and Take What You Need.
With the same bandmates, Trower gave a concert on his 60th birthday in Bonn, Germany. The concert was recorded by the German television channel WDR. It was then released on DVD and subsequently on CD throughout Europe and later the US under the title Living Out of Time: Live. Trower toured the United States and Canada in the summer and autumn of 2006.
In 2007, Trower released a third recording with Jack Bruce, Seven Moons, featuring Gary Husband on drums. A 2008 world tour began in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on 16 January 2008. Joining Davey Pattison and Pete Thompson was Glenn Letsch (formerly of Gamma) playing bass. European dates began in April. The show of 29 March 2008 at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan, was released as a double album on V12 Records.
Trower has described James Brown as his "big hero", particularly Brown's early work "where blues is crossing over into rock and roll".
In 2016, he enjoyed a successful tour of the US. On 20 March 2018, Trower played a show at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, Maryland. Ten minutes later (approximately 9:00PM EDT) after playing back-to-back songs "Day of The Eagle" and "Bridge of Sighs", he announced on his microphone that he was not feeling well (he had flu symptoms), handed his guitar to a stage crew, walked backstage and collapsed. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital for treatment.
In 2019, it was announced that Trower had signed to Mascot Label Group, alongside the announcement of a new studio album Closer To The Day. Regarding the album's title, he told Guitar World, "I'm not thinking about dying — far from it. What I'm saying is, 'If I'm nearer the end than the beginning, then I've got to get going.'" The album was released on 22 March 2019, while its supporting tour was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 18 February 2022, Trower announced his latest studio album, No More Worlds To Conquer, alongside its title track. The record was released on 29 April 2022.
Sari Schorr is the featured vocalist on Trower's album, Joyful Sky, which was released on Provogue Records in October 2023.
On June 6, 2024 Trower announced the cancellation of his upcoming tour of the USA scheduled for September/October, due to undisclosed health issues which would necessitate a major operation.
Biography
Robin Trower was born in Catford, London, England, and grew up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. In 1962, he formed a band that became the Paramounts, later including Westcliff High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. During this time, Trower created a local three-piece band called the Jam (not to be confused with the later group with Paul Weller).[1] Trower then, in June 1967, joined Brooker's new band Procol Harum following the success of their debut May 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", and remained with them until mid 1971, appearing on the group's first five albums.
Before launching his eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, ex-Stone the Crows bassist/singer James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. This outfit did not record and soon split up.
Trower retained Dewar as his bassist (who also took on lead vocals) and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973. In 1974, the group released Bridge of Sighs.[1] This album, along with his first and third solo album, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher. His early power trio work was noted for Jimi Hendrix influences.[4] Trower is an influential guitarist who has inspired other guitar legends such as Robert Fripp, who praised him for his string bending and the quality of his sounds, and took lessons from him.
In the early 1980s, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummers Lordan and Isidore for two albums, BLT (Bruce, Lordan, Trower) and Truce (Trower, Bruce, Isidore). After those albums, he released another album with James Dewar on vocals titled Back It Up in 1983.[6] Robin Trower was dropped from Chrysalis Records afterwards.
Trower in 1975
Trower was also a part of the Night of the Guitars II European tour in 1991, organized by Sting and The Police manager Miles Copeland. The tour featured Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, Saga's Ian Crichton, Dave Sharman, Jan Akkerman and Laurie Wisefield.
Thirteen albums later, Trower's album Living Out of Time (2003) featured the return of veteran bandmates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums—the same line-up as the mid-1980s albums Passion and Take What You Need.
With the same bandmates, Trower gave a concert on his 60th birthday in Bonn, Germany. The concert was recorded by the German television channel WDR. It was then released on DVD and subsequently on CD throughout Europe and later the US under the title Living Out of Time: Live. Trower toured the United States and Canada in the summer and autumn of 2006.
In 2007, Trower released a third recording with Jack Bruce, Seven Moons, featuring Gary Husband on drums. A 2008 world tour began in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on 16 January 2008. Joining Davey Pattison and Pete Thompson was Glenn Letsch (formerly of Gamma) playing bass. European dates began in April. The show of 29 March 2008 at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan, was released as a double album on V12 Records.
Trower has described James Brown as his "big hero", particularly Brown's early work "where blues is crossing over into rock and roll".
In 2016, he enjoyed a successful tour of the US. On 20 March 2018, Trower played a show at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, Maryland. Ten minutes later (approximately 9:00PM EDT) after playing back-to-back songs "Day of The Eagle" and "Bridge of Sighs", he announced on his microphone that he was not feeling well (he had flu symptoms), handed his guitar to a stage crew, walked backstage and collapsed. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital for treatment.
In 2019, it was announced that Trower had signed to Mascot Label Group, alongside the announcement of a new studio album Closer To The Day. Regarding the album's title, he told Guitar World, "I'm not thinking about dying — far from it. What I'm saying is, 'If I'm nearer the end than the beginning, then I've got to get going.'" The album was released on 22 March 2019, while its supporting tour was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 18 February 2022, Trower announced his latest studio album, No More Worlds To Conquer, alongside its title track. The record was released on 29 April 2022.
Sari Schorr is the featured vocalist on Trower's album, Joyful Sky, which was released on Provogue Records in October 2023.
On June 6, 2024 Trower announced the cancellation of his upcoming tour of the USA scheduled for September/October, due to undisclosed health issues which would necessitate a major operation.
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