Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

. He combines bass guitar with

effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, ...

and synthesisers to create overdriven

fuzz bass Fuzz bass is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the susta ...

tones, a motif of many Muse songs. He sang lead on two songs he wrote from Muse's sixth album, ''

The 2nd Law ''The 2nd Law'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Muse, first released on 28 September 2012 through Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. Recording took place in studios between London and Los Angeles Cou ...

'' (2012). In 2024, Wolstenholme launched a solo project, Chromes.

Early life

Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

before moving to

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, where he played drums for a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band. He met guitarist

Matt Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and lyricist for the English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccentric stage persona, wide tenor vocal ...

and drummer

Dominic Howard Dominic James Howard (born 7 December 1977) is an English musician who is the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Muse. Early life Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with hi ...

from another band while both bands rehearsed in the same building. Bellamy and Howard convinced Wolstenholme to take up bass and start a new band with them, initially called Rocket Baby Dolls. The band was renamed

in 1994. The members of Muse played in separate school bands during their stay at

Teignmouth Community College Teignmouth Community School is coeducational primary and secondary school located over two sites in Teignmouth in the English county of Devon. History Primary department The primary department of the school is located on Mill Lane in Teign ...

in the early 1990s. Bellamy successfully auditioned for Howard's band, Carnage Mayhem, becoming the singer and songwriter. They asked Wolstenholme, at that time the drummer for the band Fixed Penalty, to join as the bassist; he agreed and took up bass lessons.

Musicianship

Wolstenholme's

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

s are a central motif of many Muse songs. Rather than simply playing root notes, Wolstenholme's basslines often perform a lead role, such as in the 2003 song "

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

". He combines bass guitar with

and synthesisers to create overdriven fuzz bass tones. Like Bellamy, Wolstenholme uses touch-screen controllers built into his instruments to control synthesisers and effects including Kaoss Pads and

Digitech Whammy The DigiTech Whammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It raises or lowers the pitch of an audio signal by up to two octaves, controlled with a treadle. The first model, released in 1989, was the first mass-market digital pitc ...

pedals. Wolstenholme mostly plays with his fingers, rather than a

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...

, as he prefers the sound for most songs. According to the producer

Rich Costey Richard Costey is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer. He has worked with musicians across genres including rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Notable collaborators include Fiona Apple, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Sig ...

, who has worked with Muse on several occasions, "His finger strength is staggering ... He hits the strings really goddamn hard. It sounds that way because that's the way he plays." Wolstenholme wrote and sang lead vocals on two Muse songs, "Liquid State" and "Save Me", from their sixth album, ''

'' (2012). Wolstenholme played bass on Moriaty's 2015 single "Bones". He also contributed to

Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Status Quo (band), Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in p ...

's posthumous solo album '' Over and Out'' (2018). In August 2024, Wolstenholme announced a solo project, Chromes, and released the singles "Imaginary World" and "The Good Life".

Personal life

Wolstenholme married his girlfriend, Kelly, on 23 December 2003. They have six children. In April 2010, the family moved to

Foxrock Foxrock () is an affluent suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. It is within the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, in the postal district of Dublin 18 and in the Catholic parish of Foxrock. History The suburb of Foxrock was developed ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, Ireland. After Wolstenholme and Kelly divorced, Wolstenholme married Caris Ball on 1 December 2018, the day before his 40th birthday. The couple have a daughter and a son, as well as Ball's two previous daughters, giving Wolstenholme ten children in total. Wolstenholme is a supporter of

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, his hometown football team. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of arts from the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

in 2008. Wolstenholme has struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In a 2011 interview, he said he would drink so much he would vomit blood, but did not grasp the severity of his situation. His bandmates did not notice his problem for several years; according to Bellamy, "He's such a good musician that his motor skills or something just aren't affected. So he would come in and play brilliantly and then we wouldn't see him for a bit. We'd have a great gig and he'd go off to his room so we wouldn't really know what was going on." His bandmates broached the subject of his drinking several times without success. During 2008, Wolstenholme began having

panic attacks Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a rapid, irregular heartbeat, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, con ...

triggered by his drinking. He eventually realised that drinking would kill him, as it had his father. His alcoholism did not affect his playing until the recording of Muse's fifth album, '' The Resistance'' (2009), at which point he went into

rehab Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation hospital, hospitals devoted to the rehabilitation of patients w ...

. He wrote two songs about his experience, "Liquid State" and "Save Me", which appeared on Muse's sixth album, ''

'' (2012). In 2012, Wolstenholme said: "I threw myself into music in a way I hadn't done for 10 years. It sounds corny but it was the only thing that made me feel peaceful."

References

External links

MUSE: Bassist Chris Wolstenholme
''Bass Musician Magazine'', 8 January 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolstenholme, Christopher 1978 births Living people Muse (band) members English rock bass guitarists British male bass guitarists 21st-century English musicians Progressive metal bass guitarists People from Rotherham People from Teignmouth Musicians from Devon 21st-century British bass guitarists