Bernie Calvert

Bernie Calvert comes as the second bassist of The Hollies, joining in 1966 after the permanent departure of Eric Haydock. When Calvert joined The Hollies, he would use a Precision Bass until 1967, where he purchased a Fender Jazz Bass, in a sunburst finish, along with both a pickup and bridge cover. The bass is popular within The Hollies, as it appears in several Hollies songs and albums from early 1967 to late 1968. Some songs where this bass is most prominent are, Bus Stop, Step Inside, Dear Eloise, Blowin' In the Wind, and many more. Along with the songs, albums such as Butterfly and Evolution has this bass as Calvert's main instrument.

In 1969, he switched from the Jazz Bass to a Precision Bass, but he would occasionally bring out the Jazz Bass in some performances. Along with that, Calvert is seen with numerous models of the Jazz Bass. His main model - which is most likely a 1963 model - can be seen with the covers on (pre-1969 performances), and off (music video for Amnesty). Another model has a lighter sunburst color, and can be seen in the mid-70s, his last model was seen in The Hollies' performance of Heartbeat, and That'll Be The Day in 1980, just before his departure.

In Calvert's early phase with The Hollies, he is seen using a Fender Precision Bass, in both a live performance for Beat-Club in 1966, and along with the music videos for Very Last Day, I Can't Let Go, and I've Got to Go My Own Way. Calvert then ditched the Precision for a Jazz Bass in 1967, and would continue with the Jazz Bass until 1969, where he would bring out his Precision Bass once again, and continues to use the said bass until his departure in 1981; additionally, the Fender Precision would mostly be seen (based on promotional videos and live performances) int he years 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, and 1975.

After performances with Fender basses, in early 1970, or 1971, Calvert switched to a Rickenbacker 4000 in Jetglo, with only 1 bridge pickup. Calvert would use this bass extensively during performances and recordings in the 70s, some notable songs with this bass would include Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress). In the 70s, he would interchange between the Rickenbacker and his Precision. It is unknown where this bass went a few months before departure, as he had other basses.

In a clip from the German TV show "Harlequin" circa 1978, Bernie Calvert is briefly seen at 2:48 playing a Kramer DMZ-6000B bass. While it's unclear if Calvert continues to use this bass, some photos on Twitter suggest he still owns it. It's believed he acquired and used the bass shortly before leaving The Hollies.

In this rare performance of The Hollies, performing The Air That I Breathe, sometime in 1975 or 1976, Bernie Calvert can be seen in several frames (most particularly during the solo and after) to play a Gibson EB-0 bass. The model itself seems to be an EB-0 as the EB-3 has an extra bridge pickup, while the EB-0 only has one neck pickup. Calvert acquired this bass sometime during the mid-70s, as there were several promotional shoots with the EB-0 bass, though it is unknown on its whereabouts after his departure until the present times.

In this website from Aria themselves, follows a list of players that have used Aria guitars/basses over the years. This must have been from the early to mid 80s, as can be seen at the top right, between Tony Butler and Gerry Cott, a picture of Bernie Calvert is seen sporting an Aria bass, and it is mentioned that Calvert used an Aria SB-1000 bass. This bass can be seen throughout the late 70s to early 80s period when Bernie was still with the Hollies, including the music video for Harlequin. Bernie Calvert still uses this bass until today (Courtesy of Twitter) for church performances, and has been his main bass throughout his playing career after The Hollies (Courtesy of Instagram - Bernie and Terry did a reunion in '87, and Bernie sported the Aria SB-1000).