Swedish bassist Michael Stolt is best known for his work with one of the most popular 1990s progressive rock bands, the Flower Kings, a project instigated by his brother Roine. Born in 1964, he was eight years younger than his guitarist brother. Michael started playing bass at age 14, rehearsing to records by Genesis, Weather Report, and Fantasia, Roines own band. Since he already knew the material, he was asked to join when original bass player, Mats Lindberg, left in 1980. Michael's live debut occurred in spring 1980 and he can be heard on Fantasia's last eponymous record (on Warner). When the band split he started working as a session and live bassist. In 1986 he joined the pop/rock group Desperados as lead singer. The band was signed to EMI and released two CDs and a handful of singles between 1990 and 1993 before disbanding. Michael then put together his own project, Nöjesprofilerna. In summer 1994, his brother Roine asked him to play a few live shows in support of his own solo album, The Flower King. The response to the album and the live show was so good that Roine decided to turn the band into something permanent, christened the Flower Kings, which became one of the best-selling international prog acts of the 1990s within a few years. Michael Stolt's contribution on studio recordings was limited, since Roine can play bass very well, but he accompanied the band live from 1994 to 1999, when he left to concentrate on his own developing projects. ~ François Couture, Rovi