Bernard Bamford Calvert (born 16 September 1942) is an English former musician who played bass guitar with

The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...

from 1966 until 1981.

Career

He worked with several

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

groups during the early 1960s, most notably Rickie Shaw and the Dolphins, where he worked with future Hollies members, Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott. Originally a pianist, Calvert, on Hicks's suggestion, switched to bass. Calvert was nicknamed "Bamf", which derived from his middle name, Bamford. After the break-up of the Dolphins, Calvert played in a number of semi-professional outfits. However, unable to advance his musical career, Calvert took a factory job until he was asked to substitute for Hollies' then bassist,

Eric Haydock Eric Haydock (born Eric John Haddock; 3 February 1943 – 5 January 2019) was a British musician, best known as the original bass guitarist of the Hollies from December 1962 until July 1966. Career Haydock's first group, The Deltas, would b ...

, in a tour of

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. After the tour, Calvert and the Hollies played on the Everly Brothers album " Two Yanks in England", and then on the Hollies' single, "

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

", before returning to his factory job. Shortly after that, he was invited to join the Hollies permanently in 1966. In 1981, Calvert left the band after they started working with

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch as their producer. Calvert had been omitted from a session from Welch, and decided to leave the band all together after a phone call with Terry Sylvester, who himself also spoke about leaving. Sylvester left and Calvert followed a few days later. Calvert never returned to music. Calvert was friends with Mama Cass Elliot from The Mamas & the Papas. She flew Calvert and the rest of the band to Los Angeles for his birthday. In early 1969, Calvert was in a "session supergroup" called The Bread and Beer Band, that featured

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

, Caleb Quaye, Roger Pope, and Lennox & Rolfo. They recorded a single and album in February 1969. The single was released and the album was set to release in June of that year, but was shelved. On 24 September 2009, the Hollies were nominated for induction to the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

, and were inducted on 15 March 2010. They were represented at the RRHOF ceremony by Allan Clarke,

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is a British and American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills ...

, Sylvester, Haydock and Calvert. Elliott and Hicks were unable to attend because they had a prior booking with the Hollies.

Discography

References

1942 births Living people English rock bass guitarists British male bass guitarists English male songwriters People from Brierfield, Lancashire The Hollies members English rock keyboardists {{UK-bass-guitarist-stub

Career

Discography

See also

References