| Matthew Bellamy |
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BACKGROUND Matt's father, George Bellamy was the Rhythm Guitarist in the 1960's British rock group The Tornados who were the first British band to have a US number 1, with Telstar . Matt's mother, Marilyn, was born in Belfast , and migrated to England in the 1970's. On her first day in England she met George Bellamy , at that time working as a cab driver in London. They moved to Cambridge, where Matt's older brother Paul was born, and a couple of years later Matt himself. In the mid-Eighties they moved to Teignmouth, Devon. When he was 13 years old, Bellamy's parents divorced, and he lived with his grandmother for a period of time. Matt attended Exeter College before Muse were signed. INFLUENCES His use of high pitched vocal lines is a staple part of Muse's sound. This Falsetto is a signature characteristic of Muse and is the main dividing factor between fans and non-fans. In live performances and studio version he has been able to falsetto up to a G#6. His vocal style has been compared to those of Thom Yorke of Radiohead , Freddie Mercury of Queen , Emilé Wordsworth and Jeff Buckley . Bellamy's Piano style has been inspired by the works of Romantic pianists, such as Sergei Rachmaninoff , and has resulted in a fusion of Romantic style with rock in many of Muse's songs, such as ''Space Dementia'' and ''Butterflies and Hurricanes''. Bellamy cites some of his Guitar playing influences as Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine , the latter being particularly evident in the more riff-based songs on Muse's second album, '' Origin Of Symmetry '', and in Bellamy's extensive use of pitch-shifting effects in his solos. MUSICAL EQUIPMENT Matt uses Hugh Manson custom guitars made in Exeter, Devon, UK. Matt currently has six Mansons, known as his "Mattocasters" (a play on the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster names). The first and most famous is his silver Manson. Matt came up with the basic concept for this guitar and Hugh Manson helped him realise it. It has a built-in Z-Vex Fuzz Factory which gives Matt his distinctive sound and the ability to use controlled feed back, it also has a MXR Phase 90 phaser and uses Seymour Duncan and Kent Armstrong pickups. All of his other Mansons follow this same basic design (apart for Matt's 7 string which was not actually built for him) with some just having different pickups and finishes, as with his mirrored Manson, and some taking the idea even further. Matt's black Manson has a MIDI strip that controls a Digitech Whammy Pedal , when it is connected, a Zvex Wah Probe and a number of other built in effects. Matt uses Diezel amp heads which are hand made in Germany, along with Marshall Mode Four cabinets, Soldano Cabinets and Line 6 amps. Most of Matt's rack effects are made with Line 6 modules. ACHIEVEMENTS Bellamy was recently #29 in '' Total Guitar '' magazine's top 100 guitar players in the world - above The Edge ( U2 ), Pete Townshend and Chuck Berry and his Riff from ''Plug in Baby'' came 13th in Total Guitar's poll of the Top 20 Riffs. The same riff was mentioned among the best-ever riffs in '' Q Magazine 's Rock and Pop Miscellany''. As well as this, the riff for "Stockholm Syndrome" was voted the greatest riff ever by Australian radio station Triple J's Top 100 Riffs of all time above Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and other iconic and better known riffs, "Plug In Baby" also made the top 20. In April 2005, '' Kerrang !'' magazine ranked him #1 in their 50 Sexiest People In Rock poll, as well as their in-house number one guitarist.'' Cosmopolitan '' also chose him as the sexiest rocker of 2003 and 2004. INTERESTS Matt's fascination with 'conspiracy theories' has been evident since the release of '' Absolution '', in which one song, ''Ruled By Secrecy'', is named after Jim Marrs ' ''Rule By Secrecy''. The B-Side "Futurism" too deals with a possible Dystopia n future. Riddles relating to the Illuminati have appeared during the treasure hunt they set for fans on the 2005 MtvU Campus Invasion Tour, and in a cryptic announcement about Muse's forthcoming album, he alludes to Dan Brown 's '' The Da Vinci Code ''. Matt Bellamy's interest in metaphysics is evident. Muse are among musicians such as Tool (cross ref. Faaip De Oiad with Futurism) and DJ Shadow as advocates of 'philosophy' in music. |
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