Bernie Calvert

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Bernie Calvert born Sep 16, 1942, Brierfield, Lancashire England played bass guitar with The Hollies from 1966 till 1980.

He worked with several rock and roll groups during the early 1960s, most notably Rickie Shaw and the Dolphins, where he worked with future Hollies Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott. A pianist, Calvert, on Hicks's suggestion, switched to bass.

After the breakup of the Dolphins, Calvert played in a number of semi-professional outfits until he was asked to substitute for Hollies's bassist Eric Haydock in a tour of Scandinavia. After the tour, Calvert played on an Everly Brothers album, and on the Hollies single Bus Stop (song), before returning to his factory job. Shortly after that, he was nvited to join the Hollies permanently.

Although it is ludicrous that one of the biggest bands in Britain would even consider hiring a duffer bassist, let alone keep him for fourteen years, Calvert has been heavily criticised for poor bass-playing, and has been regarded as a poor substitute for the much-vaunted Haydock. However, this criticism is probably a clash of styles of Merseybeat versus psychedelic rock. Calvert's style relies more on syncopation and the sound is brighter. The Hollies records display no weaknesses so far as the bass is concerned, and Calvert's bass seems to fit in well with what is going on in what was The Hollies's most creative period.

Calvert was delighted when, on an American tour, jazz bassist Ray Brown (musician) approached him and praised his bass playing on "Bus Stop."

Calvert also played piano, organ and harpsichord with the group, and composed their instrumental "Reflections of a Long Time Past."

In 1969, Calvert was invited to play bass on a still-unreleased album with the Bread and Beer band, which included Elton John.

Calvert left The Hollies in 1980 and does not seem to have done anything in music since.