Robin Trower
Background information
Birth name	Robin Leonard Trower
Born	March 9, 1945 (1945-03-09) (age 62)
Origin	Catford, South East London, England
Genre(s)	Blues Rock
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1962-present
Label(s)	Chrysalis, Atlantic
Associated acts	Procol Harum
Website	www.trowerpower.com
Notable instrument(s)
Signature Model Stratocaster

Robin Leonard Trower (born March 9, 1945 in Catford, South East London, England) is a preeminent English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the leader of his own Hendrixesque power trio.

He grew up in the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.

In 1962, Robin Trower formed a group that would come to be known as The Paramounts, later including fellow Southend High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. Trower then joined new band Procol Harum in 1967, and where he remained until 1972. After going solo in 1973, he found the individual identity and style that have brought him acclaim to this day.

Before launching his own eponymous band he joined with singer Frankie Miller, bass player James Dewar and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. Although this outfit played some well-received gigs, it did not record and soon split up.

Trower retained Dewar as a bassist, who took on lead vocals as well, and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973.

Perhaps Trower's most famous album is Bridge of Sighs (1974). This album, along with his first and third solo albums, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher.

In 1977, feeling he had already proven himself as a performer, Trower ventured into new musical realms, as demonstrated by the release of the In City Dreams album. The 1978 release of Caravan to Midnight was in a different style from the rest of his earlier work, symbolising a change in direction for him. "I am spending much more time and energy and effort on writing and arranging the material," he said at the time, adding "I think music today is suffering greatly from a cleanness. It's too set, too pat, too clever, there's not enough spontaneity."

In the early 1980's, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummer Lordan for two incarnations, BLT and Truce respectively.

Trower's most recent album, Living Out of Time (2003), features 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 lineup as the mid 1980s albums Passion and Take What You Need.

Trower toured the US and Canada in summer 2006. A second leg of the tour has been added for September and October.

Equipment

Trower has been a long time proponent of the Fender Stratocaster. He currently uses his custom built Strat (made by the Fender Custom Shop) which comes in Black, Arctic White and Midnight Wine Burst. The guitar is equipped with two Custom 50's single-coils in the neck and middle positions and a Tex-Mex single-coil pickup in the bridge. Other features included a custom C-shaped maple neck featuring a large headstock with a Bullet truss-rod system, locking machine heads and a maple fingerboard with narrow-spaced abalone dot position inlays and 21 frets. The ones he plays live are an exact model of his signature guitar, which is entirely unmodified. During live performances, his guitar is tuned to DGCFAd tuning, which is a full step down from the "standard" EADGBe tuning.

He is known to use anywhere from 1-3 Marshall heads on stage. Usually two JCM 800s, and a JCM 900. Although, during studio sessions, amplifiers vary to acquire different sounds.

He has recently been using Fulltone pedals and effects. He favors the OCD, Distortion Pro, Fat Boost,CLYDE Deluxe Wah, Deja Vibe 2, Soul-Bender, and a BOSS Chromatic Tuner

Discography

Robin Trower Band, except as noted:

• 1967 Procol Harum (Procol Harum)
• 1968 Shine on Brightly (Procol)
• 1969 A Salty Dog (Procol)
• 1970 Home (Procol)
• 1971 Broken Barricades (Procol)
• 1973 Best of Procol Harum (Procol)
• 1973 Twice Removed From Yesterday
• 1974 Bridge of Sighs ----- Certified Gold by RIAA[1]
• 1975 For Earth Below ----- Certified Gold by RIAA [2]
• 1976 Robin Trower Live
• 1976 Long Misty Days ----- Certified Gold by RIAA [3]
• 1977 In City Dreams ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
• 1978 Caravan to Midnight
• 1980 Victims of the Fury
• 1981 BLT (with Jack Bruce & Bill Lordan)
• 1981 Truce (w/ Bruce & Reg Isidore)
• 1983 Back It Up
• 1985 Beyond the Mist
• 1987 Passion
• 1988 Take What You Need
• 1989 No Stopping Anytime (Compilation w/ Bruce, Lordan and Reg Isidore)
• 1990 In the Line of Fire
• 1991 Essential Robin Trower
• 1991 Prodigal Stranger (Procol)
• 1993 Taxi (Bryan Ferry Band)
• 1994 20th Century Blues
• 1994 Mamouna (Ferry)
• 1995 BBC Radio One - Live
• 1995 The Long Goodbye (Procol)
• 1995 King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Robin Trower
• 1997 Someday Blues
• 1999 This Was Now '74-'98 (Live)
• 2000 Go My Way
• 2002 Speed Of Sound: The Best Of Robin Trower
• 2003 Living Out of Time
• 2005 Another Days Blues
• 2006 Living Out of Time LIVE Concert DVD, recorded in Germany, March 9, 2005
• 2007 Dylanesque (Bryan Ferry Band)

External links

• Steve's Place - The complete history on the Robin Trower Band
• TrowerPower.com - Robin Trower's official website
• 2006 Robin Trower Interview with Brian D. Holland, Modern Guitars Magazine
• RobinTrower.net - 'Robin Trower Network' (Fan Site)
• AngelFire.com - Robin Trower Unofficial California Homepage
• Inter.net - Bridge of Sighs fan site: Robin Trower on the 'Net
• OlsenArt.com - Funky Paul Olsen's artwork for Robin Trower
• Trower fan page at procolharum.com - 'Beyond the Pale' (Procol Harum's website)
• RobinTrowerLive.co.uk - Unofficial UK tribute site