Matthew James Bellamy. Biography
MUSE will perform in Kyiv on July 8 as part of U-Park Festival and this will be the third performance of the British in Ukraine. To prepare for the concert, we will focus on the most extraordinary character of the British trio - Matthew James Bellamy and take a look at his playlist.
For the history of its existence MUSE released seven albums and countless B-sides. Each release is sometimes radically different from the previous one, their music contains: loud and bright guitar riffs, piano passages, dub-step beats, orchestral works ... and some of their songs can be safely and without a twinge of conscience called the best pop hits. They managed to mix all sorts of styles in their music, even if some of the fans do not like it. You never know exactly how their next album will sound. Surely these metamorphoses can be explained by the diversity of the musical tastes of the band members.
We will warm up your interest in Matt with a few facts of his biography 🙂
Bellamy's mind is in such orderly chaos: he took part in séances as a child; he believes in aliens and a worldwide conspiracy; does not believe the politicians and (we are almost 100% sure) that somewhere under one of his houses he nevertheless built a bunker to hide there from the third world war. He reads specific literature, in one of the tours he wanted to fly on stage (literally) with a jetpack on his shoulders, and in his younger years, in the company of Chris and Dominic, he took mind-blowing amounts of hallucinogenic mushrooms:
Last book I read: "Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control". I learned how to brainwash people, which is pretty useful.
Once in Las Vegas, while high, we had a party in a huge bouncy castle in the middle of the desert and persuaded the girls to dress up as aliens. It's like being on set Twin Peaks.
Prior to taking on their current name, Matt, Dom and Chris were named after a Japanese light porn movie - Rocket Baby Dolls. By the way, initially Chris played drums in another group, when he was invited to the then Rocket Baby Dolls he mastered the bass guitar. In the 2010 Guinness Book of Records, Bellamy is listed as the record holder for the most broken guitars - 140, while on tour in support of the album. Absolution.
Each of MUSE has an honorary doctorate in arts for outstanding work in the field of music. And in 2007 they became the first band to play at the newly built Wembley Stadium in London.
Matt has been repeatedly nominated as the best guitarist, ranking 19th and 29th on the "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time" and "Top 100 Guitarists of All Time" lists, respectively.
Songs "Plug In Baby" and "Stockholm Syndrome" were named by many publications as the greatest riffs ever played. The story of how it was written "Plug In Baby" pretty funny:
Recording it, we were just beside ourselves with a huge number of hallucinogenic mushrooms. We ended up naked in the Jacuzzi and I ended up deaf in one ear from falling asleep in the sauna.
Many of you will definitely find something interesting in Matt's playlist, as the musical boundaries of his knowledge extend even to the classics. You can trace Bellamy's love for musical works from different eras and composers from all over the world by listening to the piano passages in the songs MUSE. So in Hoodoo you can hear the opening chords of the Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky.
In creativity MUSE string and piano arrangements are often present. It seems that the band is trying to sit on two chairs at once: classical music and rock.
The music of Rachmaninov, Liszt and Chopin is enigmatic. Their works are more abstract and better able to stimulate the imagination.
These composers are to be thanked for Megalomania and "Exogenesis: Symphony" in the British repertoire. Bellamy's piano playing style is inspired by the works of Romantic pianists such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, resulting in a fusion of classical romanticism and rock music, so characteristic of many songs MUSE.
If we talk about his style of playing the guitar, then Matt had a very strong influence Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine. Bellamy also shares Morello's love of unusual and exclusive accessories for his guitar.
In 1996, all three members MUSE let's go to Reading. RATM were just the headliners of the festival. It was kind of a turning point for the guys. Dominic then said:
When we become the headliners of this scene, it will mean that we have succeeded, we have achieved what we expected!
Every year, Matt and Dom asked each other the same question: did they succeed? And the answer always sounded like this: "We should speak at Reading."
For a song MUSE "Time Is Running Out" creativity has had a huge impact michael jackson. When it's already 80% Absolution was recorded, the guys wanted to create something new, groovy, a song that would make you flick the rhythm with your fingers
We wanted to write a song that was like "Billie Jean" by its sound.
In the world of rock Queen is the best example of the clash between guitar and piano in songwriting. I think that it is in their music that you can accidentally find unusual arrangements and structures for building chords. In my heart I want to write heavy music, but at the same time, I'm more attracted to the piano.
Matt is a big fan Jeff Buckley, according to Bellamy, he had the greatest influence on the work of the group.
At the time we started from MUSE, singing in falsetto was not cool, because Nirvana and other grunge bands were popular then. We went to a Jeff Buckley concert and he wasn't afraid to sing in a high male voice. I think that's what helped me to open up and not be afraid to use a more expressive and emotional vocal style.
For songs like "City Of Delusion", "Hoodoo", "Knights Of Cydonia" noticeable influence Enno Morricone: Western tunes and romantic instrumentals ... The British themselves often perform his song "Man With Harmonica" during his concerts (played by Chris right before the performance "Knights Of Cydonia").
No matter how unexpected it may sound, but Bellamy is not indifferent to his compatriots. Franz Ferdinand:
They manage to combine dance music and rock music in a very cool way, without samples or sequencers. We're interested in trying that in our music as well."
(Sequencers are a hardware or software device for real-time recording and playback of music, as a set of notes and their performance characteristics, presented in various forms, for example, CV-Gate or Midi messages - ed.).
In their younger years, members MUSE were huge fans of the album "Around The Fur" Deftones. In some way, they are united by the fact that in the music of both there is a mixture of drama and aggression. In 1999, both bands were on the same label - Maverick. Bellamy often plays the riff from the song headup during live performances MUSE.
Another inspiration for the team is the Belgian band Millionaire. It's a mix of stoner and space rock. Their debut album "Outside The Simian Flock" directly affected "Supermassive Black Hole".
Bellamy's high falsetto also inherits Prince, MUSE play often "Sign O" The Times.
For me the drummer Lightning Bolt is one of the best drummers in the world, he is like a leader. Bass and drums - that's the whole group. Very experimental.
The Muse often cover Dracula Mountain.
Once Bellamy admitted that creativity system of a Down heavily influenced the recording of the song "Stockholm Syndrome". Interesting fact: Serj Tankian, frontman SOAD, at one time offered the guys from MUSE work for his label, but they refused.
An important place in the list of Matt's favorites is occupied by Americans Weezer. Rivers Cuomo, although he looks like a know-it-all, he knows his business and plays the guitar like no other. Among the entire discography of the group, it is especially worth noting "The Blue Album" released in 1994. This release was often featured in all sorts of lists. "Best of" so: log "Guitar World" placed the record at number three of the top ten guitar albums of 1994.
Recording every next album, MUSE listened to and inspired by radically different works and musical styles. AT Absolution echoes were seen Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Primus and deftones. "The Resistance" consists of many references to classical music, especially the album's last three songs.
Although Matt himself did not admit it, Dominic let it slip:
When we were 16 radiohead were the group that had a very big influence on us.
writing down "The 2nd Law" Everyone listened to Muse: from symphonies Bach, songs David Bowie and ending Skrillex.
Here are a couple more bands and musicians that are on Mr. Bellamy's playlist: Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Rush, Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, The Smashing Pumpkins and many others.
And finally, a few quotes from Matt:
I would love to go to Mars. I would like to record an album while being weightless.
Once Paris Hilton came to our show in LA. But she left in time "Knights Of Cydonia", and this is the first song in the setlist. If we managed to offend Paris Hilton, then we are doing everything right!
The concept of democracy is a fucking joke. Rock should shake everybody and say, "Fuck it all! This is crazy, dude! Let's burn Parliament!"
Music lovers all over the world associate the name Matthew Bellamy with the work of the legendary Muse team. Guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and, of course, the creator and permanent leader of this group, Bellamy has been a real rock legend for more than a decade and, despite his impressive stage experience, continues to gather full halls of fans with the group.
Childhood and youth
Matthew James Bellamy was born in Cambridge, UK on June 9, 1978. The artist's zodiac sign is Gemini. Matthew's passion for music came as a child, and not by chance: the boy's father, George Bellamy, participated in several bands. One of them, The Tornados, was even popular with rock fans. It is not surprising that Matthew also had dreams of stage and fame. True, George's other children (except Matthew, there were two more children in the family - an older sister and a younger brother) showed no interest in music.
Matthew got a “legacy” from his mother - she was fond of otherworldly entities and even, according to her own statement, talked with the dead and spirits. Bellamy himself would later be seriously puzzled by the idea of ​​​​the existence of a worldwide conspiracy, the intrigues of the world “over-government”, the Illuminati and aliens, contact with which the powers that be are allegedly hiding.
When Matthew was a teenager, his parents divorced. The situation was such that the grandmother had to raise the young man. In the same period, in order to express his feelings and fulfill himself, the young man began to seriously learn to play the guitar. Bellamy later admits in an interview that he wanted to be in Dominic Howard's local band Gothic Plague and prove to his parents and others that he was worth something.
The plan worked out, and over the next 2 years, the aspiring musician honed his skills and gained experience in this team. In the same period, Bellamy began to write his own songs: first "on the table", and then tried and performed them. Soon the repertoire of "Gothic Plague", which played mostly covers of popular songs, was replenished with Matthew's tracks. At first, the listeners did not appreciate the novelties, but gradually the musician began to have fans.
After some time, after graduating from school, Bellamy went to travel around Europe. This journey, according to the musician, largely influenced his worldview, filling in the gaps in education. It is also noteworthy that on this trip, while in Greece, Matthew wrote the legendary composition "Muscle Museum".
Music
In 1997, a representative of a record company happened to be at one of the concerts of Bellamy and his comrades. The performance impressed him so much that the very next day the group was offered a serious contract. This was the beginning of the creative biography of the legendary Muse team and the career of Matthew Bellamy.
Two years later, the group released their first album, called "Showbiz". The record immediately became popular, and the team went on their first large-scale tour, gaining more and more fans. The second album "Muse" was released in 2001. Both records are united by emotionality, expressiveness and, of course, Matthew's unique vocals. According to Bellamy, in his youth he really fully corresponded to the image of the lyrical hero of his compositions.
But the next album - "Absolution", on the contrary, turned out to be lyrical and even somewhat depressing. At that time, Matthew Bellamy often complained about problems in his personal life: the young man suffered from the fact that women perceived him as a rock star, and not as an ordinary guy. This interfered with the relationship and made the musician worry.
Matthew Bellamy song "Muscle Museum"In addition, this disc reflected the artist's passion for the world conspiracy theory. As Matthew admitted, the composition "Ruled by Secrecy" became a reflection of the book of the same name by Jim Marrs, dedicated to secret power.
The 2006 record Black Holes and Revelations also deals with the themes of a conspiracy of the authorities and a possible alien takeover of the Earth, but its sound is not so gloomy. By the time of its release, Muse's work had already become popular all over the world, which was confirmed by numerous prizes and awards.
So, in 2008, the band members - Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme - received the title of honorary doctor of arts. And two years later, the musicians were recognized as the authors of the best guitar riff of the decade (we are talking about the song "Plug In Baby").
Music lovers also note the unique range of Matthew Bellamy's voice, which set the style for the group's work. His recognizable falsetto, complemented by virtuoso guitar and piano parts, makes the band's work unique.
Matthew Bellamy song "Starlight"It is noteworthy that the first albums of the group were often compared with the work of the teams and, however, the members of "Muse" managed to prove their individuality with further compositions. Bellamy himself often emphasized that he was a fan of music.
In the list of compositions of the Muse group, over the years of creativity, many soundtracks have accumulated. The "filmography" of the musicians already has several dozen items, and it is constantly updated. The most famous were the songs written for the film "Tourist" (composition "Starlight" - "Starlight"), the series "Doctor Who", the saga "Twilight", as well as for the film "Blood Harvest" with Cecile de France and Mayvenn Le Besco .
Personal life
The personal life of Matthew Bellamy interests fans no less than creativity. The high timbre of the artist's voice at first even provoked a wave of gossip about the orientation of the performer, but these rumors were not confirmed.
The musician's first high-profile novel was a relationship with an actress. The lovers even celebrated their engagement, and in 2011 the girl gave Matthew their first child - the son of Bingham Hawn Bellamy. Unfortunately, after another three years, the couple announced their separation.
The musician did not remain alone for long: already in 2015, photos of Matthew Bellamy appeared in the press in the company of actress and model Elle Evans, and after a while the couple officially confirmed the relationship. In 2017, it became known that Elle would soon become the musician's wife - on Instagram, the girl posted a picture of a beautiful ring on her finger and talked about her engagement to Matthew.
Matthew Bellamy now
Now Matthew Bellamy and his bandmates are busy preparing a new album. It is already known that it will be released in November 2018.
The song "The Dark Side" by MuseRecall: in February, the team has already presented one track from the upcoming disc - "Thought Contagion", and at the end of August in "Instagram" musician appeared video with a guitar solo from another new song - "The Dark Side".
Discography
- 1999 - "Showbiz"
- 2001 - "Origin of Symmetry"
- 2003 - Absolution
- 2006 - "Black Holes and Revelations"
- 2009 - The Resistance
- 2012 - "The 2nd Law"
- 2015 - Drones
And here are two more news about parting.
I missed this news, but I hasten to inform you, otherwise suddenly someone is not in the know.
It all happened in early December.
Dev Patal and Freida Pinto broke up. The couple dated for 6 years.
The first suspicions of discord in their relationship appeared after Patel was absent from the 30th anniversary of his beloved in October this year.
In addition, it became noticeable that over the past six months, in all interviews, the actress avoided questions about Virgo, although she had not skimped on warm words before.
Also, the end of the relationship and the breakup of the engagement were reported Kate Hudson and Matthew Bellamy.
Actress and Muse lead singer Matthew began dating in 2010. During this time, they became the parents of the son of Bingham "Bing" Hawn Bellamy, announced their engagement, but the matter never came to the wedding. According to rumors, Kate did not grieve for long and found a new love in the face of dancer and actor Derek Hough ("Nashville").
With a new lover, the actress has already appeared at several events. First, the paparazzi spotted the couple at the Nice Guy restaurant in Los Angeles. They also attended Goldie Hawn's party together.
Childhood and family Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy was born in Cambridge (England) on June 9, 1978. His father - George Bellamy - was a fairly well-known musician - the guitarist of The Tornados. However, the mother of our today's hero was even more striking and charismatic personality. Neighbors and relatives of the women, as one, said that she had certain spiritual abilities. Mom Matthew literally communicated with the spirits of the dead, without using any assistive devices.The first songs of Matthew Bellamy
In 1990, our today's hero moved with his family to the city of Teignmouth, which was distinguished by its changeable weather. The population of the city was small, the level of infrastructure development was very deplorable. That is why the only hobby for the young guy was music. He began to methodically learn to play the guitar, dreaming of getting into one of the local teen bands. After Matthew's parents divorced and he began to live with his grandmother, music became his only outlet.Some time later, our today's hero met other musicians of the Muse group. It all started with the fact that Matthew Bellamy began performing in Dominic Howard's band. At first, the musical group was called Gothic Plague, but subsequently the name changed several times. As, however, and the composition of the team. So soon bassist Chris Wolstenholme appeared in the school band, with whom Matthew and Dominic had been friends before. Subsequently, this trinity formed the backbone of the entire team.
Muse in Moscow
As for Matthew Bellamy himself, he began writing his first songs in high school. At first, his compositions did not cause general enthusiasm, and therefore the group had to play in half-empty bars and clubs. However, as the musicians say, it was during this period that they first decided for themselves that they would certainly become popular and famous. In the same period, the musicians also refused to perform cover songs. After leaving school, Matt left his former team for a while and went on a long journey through Europe. During this period he visited Spain, Italy, Greece. This exciting journey allowed him to gain experience, as well as bring home to England many new experiences and even some new songs. So, in particular, during a trip to Greece, the Englishman wrote the famous composition "Muscle Museum", which later became a real hit.
Returning home, Matt Bellamy began to play again with the old team, and at the same time work as an artist and designer. However, he did not work long in the new place. Just a few months later, our today's hero met representatives of the Dangerous Records label, who were very interested in the work of Muse and offered the guys their first contract.
The great success of musician Matthew Bellamy
Bypassing all the stages of the collective's creative path, we note that in just a few years the British musical group has managed to achieve impressive success in the world of show business. Between 1999 and 2012, the group released six mega-successful albums, and also traveled around the world with tour performances. The personal collection of the members of the legendary band includes two Brit Awards, four statuettes from the MTV Europe Music Awards, as well as a huge number of other honorary awards. At the time of this writing, there are thirty-seven music awards on the Brits' list of awards, as well as over a hundred nominations.Matthew Bellamy plays the guitar with his tongue
Moreover, for their contribution to the development of cultural heritage, all members of the Muse group received honorary doctorates of arts from the University of Plymouth, which is also eloquent proof of the team's success.
Among other things, it is also worth noting the fact that compositions written by Matthew Bellamy and Muse can be heard in many Hollywood films. Among those films are "Twilight", "Tourist", "Knight of the Day", "Password Swordfish", as well as the series "The Sopranos", "Gossip Girl" and "Supernatural". Among the famous fans of the group are Charlie Sheen, Johnny Depp, Mikhail Grabovsky, Jensen Ackles, Andrew Lincoln, and many other stars.
Matthew Bellamy at present
As for Matt Bellamy personally, his successes are also very significant. Over the years, several well-known magazines called him the sexiest rocker of our time. In addition, in 2009, our today's hero was among the greatest guitarists in the history of the music industry. In the NME magazine's list, Matt was in the fourteenth place in the ranking of the best frontmen of the present and past. In this list, he even went around John Lennon and Bob Dylan. Currently, Matthew Bellamy and other musicians of the legendary English band are working on a new show program, which will be presented to the audience in the near future.Matthew Bellamy's personal life and third-party hobbies
From April 2011 to December 2014, the musician's wife was actress Kate Hudson. In July of the same year, the common son Bingham was born to celebrities. 
Two months after the divorce, Bellamy was spotted with Playboy model Elle Evans. In August 2019, they got married, and six months later it became known that the couple was expecting a baby.
In everyday life, Matt is fond of sports. In addition, the musician is a supporter of conspiracy theories, as well as a passionate "hunter" for aliens. In one of his interviews, Matthew Bellamy also admitted that he is a supporter of the teachings of libertarianism. This concept implies the prohibition of any violence, and is also based on the legal consolidation of this postulate.
- Matthew James Bellamy was born in 1978 in Cambridge, England.
- His father, George Bellamy, was a former member of The Tornados, who were the first Englishmen to hit the US charts with Telstar; this song subsequently inspired Matt himself to create the composition Knights of Cydonia.
- At the initiative of his father, Matthew learned to play the piano from an early age, and at the age of 14 he picked up the guitar. In the 1980s, Bellamy's parents divorced, and he moved in with his grandmother, who helped the aspiring musician a lot with the purchase of equipment and instruments.
- In 1994, in Teignmouth, Devon, Matt, along with his comrades, gathered their first group, calling it the Rocket Baby Dolls; soon the guys won the school competition among the groups and decided to pursue music professionally. Thus was born the group, later called Muse.
- The biggest problem among the band members was choosing a style of music that would suit everyone, but the guys could not find such a thing and decided not to limit themselves to the strict framework of one style and play what they just like. So there was a sound that was traced on all studio albums and which no other band could ever recreate.
- Manson's Bellamy guitar was specially made for the musician by Hugh Manson, and it featured a built-in Roland VG-8 processor and Z.Vex Fuzz Factory gadgets, which gave the instrument an "overdriven" sound even on a clean sound.
- Matt Bellamy has received numerous awards for his excellent guitar playing; so, he was awarded 19th place in the list of "The 50 Best Guitarists of All Time", 29th place in the "Top 100 Guitarists", and the guitar riff from the song Plug In Baby took 13th position in the ranking of "The 100 Best Riffs of All Time". In April 2005, Kerrang! awarded the young rocker 28th place in the list of "The 50 Sexiest People in Rock Music".
- Matthew Bellamy was engaged to Italian Gaia Polloni for a long time, but a few months before the wedding, scheduled for 2009, the couple made a joint decision to end the relationship. The singer got engaged to Kate Hudson, July 9, 2011 they had a son.
Matthew Bellamy quotes
- By the way, I have never done guitar solos. There is something uncool about them.
- The whole drive comes from a monstrous hassle before you go on stage. I'm terribly nervous. It seems to me that when you arrive at the place half an hour before the concert, the nerves turn into adrenaline. I'm nervous all day. And this translates into pure excitement, not self-reproach.
- My biggest fear is being impregnated by an alien and giving birth. It would be terrible to give birth to a freak, so you would have to hide him from everyone and everything, but still raise him as your own.
- Most bands release live albums when they are old and fat. We wanted to stand out.
- Don't waste your time, otherwise it will waste you too.
- Paris Hilton was at our concert in Los Angeles. But she left during the song Knights of Cydonia - and it was the first song at the concert. If we pissed off Paris Hilton, then we're doing something worthwhile.
- If you take away the bass, guitar, drums and microphone and just put me alone singing in an empty room, then I will look like a lonely screaming maniac. You might even laugh at me.