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Biography: Muse
Maria Sysoeva
If you are a novice musician, you play your own songs with your friends somewhere in the garage, and dream of world recognition.
… Be careful!
After all, dreams tend to come true.
Matthew Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard, the musicians of the legendary band Muse, were convinced of this at the time.
It all started at the dawn of the 90s.
In the provincial English town of Teignmouth (Devon County), life flowed so steadily and boring that from the entertainment of the local youth, there were, perhaps, only hanging around the streets and smoking in the doorways.
In order not to go crazy from such a "fun", three teenagers Matt, Dom and Chris worked heartily in different amateur groups of the Teignmouth School
One day, Matthew Bellamy and Dom Howard decided to team up and create their own team.
The collective was coined the name Gothic Plague.
To complete the set, the young musicians only needed a bass player, then Matthew and Dominic had a plan to lure their good friend Chris Wolstenholme from another school band.
To the joy of the guys, he immediately agreed, and even in a short time he mastered the bass guitar, leaving the experience of playing drums in the past.
In this line up, Gothic Plague broke into rehearsals.
However, for a long period their music remained unclaimed, because at that time the minds and hearts of English youth were captured by Brit pop.
The polished sound of sweet voiced boys did not attract the Tinmouth teenagers at all.
Fans of Radiohead, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins, they continued to bend their line further.
"We basically didnot listen to anything English, "Matt said,"American music — that's what really mattered."
Nevertheless, the moment came when the efforts of the young musicians were appreciated.
In 1994, they became the winners of the local "Battle of the Bands" (by that time the name of Gothic Plague was changed to Rocket Baby Dolls).
Later, Matthew Bellamy admitted in an interview with a magazine that they looked, to put it mildly, unusual at that performance: "We were wearing a ton of makeup, we were playing punk and forced the crowd to rush on stage and smash all our equipment.
And we won!
It's very strange, because we surpassed all these bands that were technically professional, bands that sounded like Jamiroquai."
Over time, the trio abandoned the ridiculous name Rocket Baby Dolls and chose a more euphonious – Muse.
Inspired by the triumphant victory, Matt, Dom and Chris decided to devote their lives to music in the future, preferring concert activities to university.
Since then, Muse has started performing in local clubs and bars.
The lead singer of the band, with a bitter smile, recalls that period: "We played in a thousand places, in pubs filled with old people, or something like that, and all they wanted was hits from the sixties, so we were never really well received.
I think that this has helped us in a certain sense."
So in the creative biography of Muse, the times of searching, numerous rehearsals and performances at various birthday parties and half empty venues have come.
Sometimes the musicians gave up because their music does not arouse wide interest among the public, and record companies still do not show any attention to them.
But, despite everything, the group continued to exist, and its members did not get tired of honing their performance skills, developing their own style.
Once, in 1997, at one of the ordinary concerts, the group was noticed by a representative of the label "Dangerous Records", and invited the musicians to sign up at the studio.
Already in September of the same year, Muse recorded their self titled debut EP (from the English Extended Play, the so called mini album) at Sawmills Studio.
The album was released in early 1998, and consisted of only four tracks: "Overdue"," Cave"," Coma "and"Escape".
Unfortunately, the first album did not receive flattering reviews from critics, and the expected breakthrough did not happen.
However, this fact did not completely knock out the band members.
On the contrary, they diligently, day after day, continued to develop their sound, and gradually their fame began to gain momentum.
With each performance, Muse gained an increasing number of caring listeners: people definitely liked what the Tinmouth musicians played.
And the allegedly unsuccessful EP, released in an edition of 999 copies, sold out at concerts with great success.
In September 1998, the band performed in Manchester at the "In The City" congress of representatives of the music industry of the United Kingdom.
Thanks to this concert, Muse attracted the attention of several American labels at once, and in November of the same year, the musicians were invited to play at the Mercury Lounge (New York).
Two weeks after that successful performance, they gave another concert, this time in Los Angeles at Santa Monica Pier.
A representative of the label "Maverick" noticed a promising group, and offered mutual cooperation.
In December 1998, Muse signed a contract with a recording studio.
And already in January 1999, their second EP was released — "Muscle Museum", which included two versions of the song of the same name, as well as the songs" Sober"," Uno"," Unintended "and"Instant Messenger".
The release of this album aroused genuine interest among critics and ordinary listeners.
A high profile release, actively discussed in the media, forced the influential music journalist Steve Lamak to turn his attention to talented musicians.
As a Radio One DJ, Lamak was the first to put Muse on national radio.
"It was one of those records that doesnot fit into the framework of what sounds everywhere.
She immediately received great feedback from listeners, " Steve later recalled.
Later, Muse was invited to the Evening Tower Session (the Steve Lamak show), where they played together with such famous bands as Three Colors Red and The Donnas.
Then the band took part in the Woodstock, Glastonbury, T In The Park and Reading festivals, where the musicians were very well received by the audience who had time to love them.
In September 1999, two versions of the single "Cave" were released, which reached the 49th position in the charts.
Muse's rapidly spreading creativity interested the famous producer John Leckie, who previously worked with such bands as The Stone Roses, Radiohead and The Verve.
Muse - Showbiz
Thanks to the participation of the venerable bigwigs of the music industry, on September 7, 1999, the first Muse album "Showbiz" was released exclusively in France, and a month later a world release took place.
The CD was recorded in about five weeks: two and a half weeks at Rak Studio in London and three weeks at Sawmills Studio.
All the musical material for the record was completely composed by Matthew Bellamy.
"It sounds strange, but I donot know where the ideas for some songs came from, "Matt said," obviously they come from somewhere deep in my soul, but sometimes even I donot understand where they come from, and to be honest, I donot want to find out.
I'm afraid that if I find the answer, ideas will stop appearing."
After the release of the album, the band went on a big tour of the United States.
Muse performed as the opening act for Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Skunk Anansie, Flaming Lips and Pavement.
In May 2000, the first private tour of the Tinmouth trio started.
This event was a great success in their creative career.
Since the beginning of 2001, Muse has plunged into working on a new album.
For the band's frontman, that period was remembered as follows: "We recorded the album in two stages.
At the beginning, in September 2000, together with Dave Bottrill, we recorded songs between concerts, literally on the road, and immediately performed them – such compositions include Plug In Baby.
At that moment, our condition was such that we were resting for the first time in more than a year, we "disbanded", drank a lot, did not have a clear goal.
The second stage was already in February, and then we focused more on the music."
"Origin of Symmetry" was released in June 2001.
The sound of the second album was clearly different from the previous one.
Experiments with various musical instruments were noticeable on the disc: the church organ and the mellotron.
There were more aggressive guitar parts and keyboards in the sound.
As before, the" calling card " of the group was the famous falsetto of Matthew Bellamy.
In a word, the success of the album was tremendous!
"We began to master the instruments better than in the days of Showbiz, and since its release, we have been influenced by a lot of things, we have watched a lot of movies, heard a lot of different music, got carried away by many bands.
The only reason I can say that this album is better is that it relates more to the situation and to the time I am in now, " Matt said frankly in an interview.
Muse - Origin of Symmetry
"Origin of Symmetry" still does not give up its positions.
And in February 2006, the magazine "Q" placed it on the 74th place in the list of the 100 greatest albums of the planet!
Following the release of the second disc, Muse released a live DVD, "Hullabaloo", with recordings of two consecutive concerts at Le Zenith in Paris in 2001.
Released at the same time on two CDs, the album of the same name contained B sides and an audio recording of a concert at Le Zenith.
In the summer of 2002, the band performed at several music festivals, and then went on a well deserved vacation.
After returning from a long vacation, the musicians began recording the third disc.
On September 22, 2003, Muse's third studio creation, "Absolution", was released.
Many songs from this album — "Time Is Running Out", "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution", "Butterflies and Hurricanes" - became hits overnight.
As for the disc itself, it debuted at the first line of the UK chart, and for a long period held the lead.
The musicians, meanwhile, had a grand tour in support of the new album, lasting one year!
During this long term stage, Muse visited Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada and France.
Five singles were released ("Time Is Running Out", "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution", "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes").
In June 2004, Muse headlined the Glastonbury Festival.
Matthew Bellamy called this concert "the best gig of our lives".
However, the luck was overshadowed by the fact that Dominic's father, Bill Howard, who was present at the festival, died of a heart attack immediately after the concert ended.
"It was almost surreal that his father died an hour later.
It seemed implausible.
We spent a lot of time trying to support At Home.
I think he was comforted by the fact that at least his father saw one of the best moments of our creativity."
As a result, the band's tour ended in January 2005.
But the musicians did not think to take a break at all.
There was a feeling that their creative potential knows no boundaries.
Soon, to the delight of the fans, the band began recording their fourth album.
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Muse fans managed to evaluate the next work on July 2, 2006.
In the United States, the album debuted at the ninth line of the Billboard 200 chart.
"Black Holes and Revelations" became the most successful disc in the history of the group: in the first week of sales, it sold more than one hundred thousand copies.
The album has been sold more than a million times in Europe, receiving platinum status.
Three years later, on September 14, 2009, the band's fifth studio album, "The Resistance", appeared on the music shelves of the UK.
A little earlier (September 11), it was released in Italy, Germany, Australia and the Benelux.
The USA and Canada were able to get the disk later than the others only on September 15.
In the first weeks, the album topped the top of the UK chart.
And guitarist Brian May praised the Queen sound that Muse inserted into their new CD.
In the first week, 451 thousand copies were sold, which was a record for the band and for the UK as a whole this year.
Muse - The Resistance
It should be noted that "The Resistance" is the first album that was produced by the band itself.
To date, four singles have been released from this album — "Uprising", "Undisclosed Desires", "Resistance" and "Exogenesis: Symphony".
On May 17, 2010, a new single was released called " Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)".
This song became the soundtrack to the next film of the "Twilight Saga ""Eclipse".
In addition, the new James Mangold film "Knight of the Day", starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, also features a song from the band's latest album - "Uprising".
Widely known, almost in all corners of the globe, the band Muse, for its creative biography, played more than one concert at the most prestigious music venues, received many awards and the love of fans around the world.
But the musicians themselves, to everyone's surprise, consider that fatal (in every sense) performance at the school "Battle of the Bands"to be their main victory.
Matthew Bellamy recalls this time with nostalgia: "That performance was magical and it gave me the strength to move forward for many years, just by remembering what I experienced then.
It will take us a very long time to even get close to something like this…
Maria Sysoeva
Muse
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