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Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock music guitarist and producer who achieved success with Procol Harum from 1967 until 1971 and as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band.
Although Procol Harum was primarily known as a Progressive rock band, Trower himself is known for his blues-infused guitar playing, which critics have frequently compared to that of Jimi Hendrix, whom he has cited as an influence.
As a solo artist, Trower released four consecutive gold-certified albums from 1974 to 1977 that charted well in the US and Canada, but in the 1980s his career faltered. He briefly returned to Procol Harum for their 1991 reunion album, The Prodigal Stranger, but left again to resume his solo career. His most recent solo album, Come and Find Me, was released in 2025.
Before launching his eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, ex-Stone the Crows bassist/singer James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. This outfit did not record and soon split up.
Trower retained Dewar as his bassist (who also took on lead vocals) and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973. In 1974, the group released Bridge of Sighs. This album, along with his first and third solo album, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher. His early power trio work was noted for Jimi Hendrix influences. Trower is an influential guitarist who has inspired other guitar legends such as Robert Fripp, who praised him for his string bending and the quality of his sounds, and took lessons from him.
In the early 1980s, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummers Lordan and Isidore for two albums, BLT (Bruce, Lordan, Trower) and Truce (Trower, Bruce, Isidore). After those albums, he released another album with James Dewar on vocals titled Back It Up in 1983. Robin Trower was dropped from Chrysalis Records afterwards.
Trower was also a part of the Night of the Guitars II European tour in 1991, organized by Sting and The Police manager Miles Copeland. The tour featured Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, Saga's Ian Crichton, Dave Sharman, Jan Akkerman and Laurie Wisefield.
Thirteen albums later, Trower's album Living Out of Time (2003) featured the return of veteran bandmates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums—the same line-up as the mid-1980s albums Passion and Take What You Need.
With the same bandmates, Trower gave a concert on his 60th birthday in Bonn, Germany. The concert was recorded by the German television channel WDR. It was then released on DVD and subsequently on CD throughout Europe and later the US under the title Living Out of Time: Live. Trower toured the United States and Canada in the summer and autumn of 2006.
In 2007 Trower released a third recording with Jack Bruce, Seven Moons, featuring Gary Husband on drums. A 2008 world tour began in Ft. Pierce, Florida, on 16 January 2008. Joining Davey Pattison and Pete Thompson was Glenn Letsch (formerly of Gamma) playing bass. European dates began in April. The show of 29 March 2008 at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan, was released as a double album on V12 Records.
Trower has described James Brown as his "big hero", particularly Brown's early work "where blues is crossing over into rock and roll".
In 2016 he enjoyed a successful tour of the US. On 20 March 2018, Trower played a show at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, Maryland. Ten minutes later (approximately 9:00PM EDT) after playing back-to-back songs "Day of The Eagle" and "Bridge of Sighs", he announced on his microphone that he was not feeling well (he had flu symptoms), handed his guitar to a stage crew, walked backstage and collapsed. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital for treatment.
In 2019 it was announced that Trower had signed to Mascot Label Group, alongside the announcement of a new studio album Closer To The Day. Regarding the album's title, he told Guitar World, "I'm not thinking about dying — far from it. What I'm saying is, 'If I'm nearer the end than the beginning, then I've got to get going.'" The album was released on 22 March 2019, while its supporting tour was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2022, Trower announced his latest studio album, No More Worlds to Conquer, alongside its title track. The record was released on 29 April 2022.
Sari Schorr is the featured vocalist on Trower's album, Joyful Sky, which was released on Provogue Records in October 2023.
On 6 June 2024, Trower announced the cancellation of his upcoming tour of the US scheduled for September/October, due to undisclosed health issues which would necessitate a major operation.
In October 2024 he said on his website: "Following a successful operation I am delighted to be back playing shows in 2025, starting with the sold out Rock Legends Cruise from Miami in February, and UK dates in May!" In 2025 he announced further US and UK dates for later in the year.
Trower uses between one and three 100-watt Marshall heads with four to six cabinets on stage. While he usually uses two JCM 800s and a JCM 900, he also links 100-watt Marshall Plexi heads. In studio sessions, Trower uses a mix of amplifiers, such as a Fender Blues Junior and Cornell Plexi Amplifiers models to acquire different tonality.
He has recently been using Fulltone pedals and effects. He favors the OCD, Distortion Pro, Fat Boost, CLYDE Deluxe Wah, Deja Vibe 2, Soul-Bender, and a BOSS Chromatic Tuner. He runs his Deja Vibe into his distortion pedal to get his famous tone. He was given his own signature Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive in late 2008.
For his 2009 and 2011 US tours Trower was using his Fender Custom Shop Signature Stratocaster into a Fulltone Deja Vibe 2, Fulltone Wahfull, Fulltone Clyde Standard Wah, Fulltone Full Drive, Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive, and Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner into two Marshall Vintage Modern 2466 heads.
On his 2018 and 2025 tours he used the same gear but through two 50 watt Marshall Plexi Reissue Heads, the 1987X.
Describing his self-care routine in a 2022 interview, Trower stated that "during the last 20 years or so, it’s been no alcohol, no tobacco, no drugs, a sensible diet, a little bit of exercise and a lot of prayer."
Trower married his wife Andrea in 1968, remaining married until her death in 2014.
Trower is an avid reader, and has cited Patrick O'Brian's Nautical fiction-themed Aubrey–Maturin series as a personal favorite, asserting that "It’s very rich in language. I love the idea of the sea, and I’ve got a breviary that explains all of the terminology, so I can go to that." Trower also enjoys reading about the Second World War and considers Winston Churchill a personal hero.
| 106 | Chrysalis |
| 7 | Chrysalis |
| 5 | Chrysalis |
| 24 | Chrysalis |
| 25 | Chrysalis |
| 37 | Chrysalis |
| 34 | Chrysalis |
| 191 | Chrysalis |
| — | Passport/Music for Nations |
| 100 | GNP Crescendo |
| 133 | Atlantic Records |
| — | Atlantic |
| — | V-12 (Trower's label) |
| — | V-12 |
| — | Aezra/Orpheus |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | V-12 |
| — | Provogue |
| — | Manhaton (UK) |
| — | Provogue |
| — | Provogue |
| — | Provogue |
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