Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse. He combines bass guitar with effects and synthesisers to create overdriven fuzz bass tones, a motif of many Muse songs. He sang lead on two songs he wrote from Muse's sixth album, The 2nd Law (2012), and in 2024 launched a solo project, Chromes.
Early life
Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, Devon, where he played drums for a post-punk band. He met guitarist Matt Bellamy and drummer Dominic Howard 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 Muse in 1994.[1]
The members of Muse played in separate school bands during their stay at Teignmouth Community College 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.[2][3]
Musicianship
Wolstenholme's basslines are a central motif of many Muse songs.[4] Rather than simply playing root notes, Wolstenholme's basslines often perform a lead role, such as in the 2003 song "Hysteria".[5] He combines bass guitar with effects 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 pedals.[6]
Wolstenholme mostly plays with his fingers, rather than a plectrum, as he prefers the sound for most songs.[5] According to the producer Rich Costey, 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."[7] Wolstenholme wrote and sang lead vocals on two Muse songs, "Liquid State" and "Save Me", from their sixth album, The 2nd Law (2012).[8]
Wolstenholme played bass on Moriaty's 2015 single "Bones".[9] He also contributed to Rick Parfitt's posthumous solo album Over and Out (2018).[10][11] In August 2024, Wolstenholme announced a solo project, Chromes, and released the singles "Imaginary World" and "The Good Life".[12]
Personal life
Wolstenholme married his girlfriend, Kelly, on 23 December 2003.[13] They have six children.[14] In April 2010, the family moved to Foxrock, County Dublin, Ireland.[15] After Wolstenholme and Kelly divorced, Wolstenholme married Caris Ball on 1 December 2018, the day before his 40th birthday.[16] The couple have a daughter[17] and a son, as well as Ball's two previous daughters, giving Wolstenholme ten children in total.[18] Wolstenholme is a supporter of Rotherham United, his hometown football team.[19][20] He holds an honorary doctorate of arts from the University of Plymouth.[21]
Wolstenholme has struggled with alcoholism.[22] In a 2011 interview, he said he would drink so much he would vomit blood, but did not grasp the severity of his situation.[23] 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."[23] His bandmates broached the subject of his drinking several times without success.[24]
During 2008, Wolstenholme began having panic attacks triggered by his drinking.[14] He eventually realised that drinking would kill him, as it had his father.[8] 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.[23] He wrote two songs about his experience, "Liquid State" and "Save Me", on Muse's sixth album, The 2nd Law (2012).[8] 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."[14]
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