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 wrote and sang lead vocals from two songs from Muse's sixth album, The 2nd Law (2012). In 2024, Wolstenholme 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. Wolstenholme met the guitarist Matt Bellamy and the drummer Dominic Howard while their bands rehearsed in the same building. Bellamy and Howard convinced Wolstenholme to take up bass and start a band with them, initially called Rocket Baby Dolls. The band was renamed Muse in 1994.
Musicianship
Wolstenholme's basslines are a central motif of many Muse songs. Rather than simply playing root notes, his basslines often perform a lead role, such as in the 2003 song "Hysteria". He combines bass guitar with effects and synthesisers to create overdriven tones.
Wolstenholme mostly plays with his fingers, rather than a plectrum, as he prefers the sound for most songs. On their 2009 song "Undisclosed Desires", he played slap bass.
Other work
Wolstenholme played bass on Moriaty's 2015 single "Bones". He also contributed to Rick Parfitt's posthumous solo album Over and Out (2018). In August 2024, Wolstenholme announced a solo project, Chromes, and released the singles "Imaginary World" and "The Good Life".
Personal life
Wolstenholme married his girlfriend, Kelly, on 23 December 2003. They have six children. In April 2010, the family moved to Foxrock, County Dublin, Ireland. After Wolstenholme and Kelly divorced, Wolstenholme married Caris Ball on 1 December 2018, the day before his 40th birthday. The couple have a daughter and a son, as well as Ball's two previous daughters, giving Wolstenholme ten children in total. Wolstenholme is a supporter of Rotherham United, his hometown football team. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of arts from the University of Plymouth in 2008.
Wolstenholme has struggled with alcoholism. In a 2011 interview, he said he would drink so much he would vomit blood, but did not grasp the severity of his situation. His bandmates did not notice his problem for several years, as his playing was unaffected; according to Bellamy, Wolstenholme would perform "brilliantly" and then disappear to his room, so "we wouldn't really know what was going on". They eventually gave him an ultimatum to stop drinking.