He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, although he also played alongside a variety of musicians from the early 1970s.

[5] Bolder "never looked comfortable as a glam-rock mannequin, tottering behind Ziggy Stardust in platform boots and a rainbow-hued outfit of latex and glitter".

He worked on the albums Firefly, Innocent Victim, Fallen Angel and Conquest; when the line-up that had recorded the latter disbanded, he alone remained, along with Mick Box, guitarist, founder member, and legal owner of the band's name.

The attempt to put a new line-up together temporarily stalled; and Bolder, needing to earn a living, accepted an offer in 1981 to join Wishbone Ash.

Bolder had, coincidentally, again swapped places with John Wetton, becoming Wishbone Ash's bass player for their 1982 album Twin Barrels Burning.