Matthew Bellamy
Encyclopedia
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
, best known as the lead vocalist
, lead guitarist, pianist
, and main songwriter
of the alternative rock
band Muse
.
, who were the first British band to have a United States number one song, with "Telstar
". "Knights of Cydonia
", a single from Muse
's fourth album Black Holes and Revelations
, is often cited as a tribute to that song, with its space rock sound and accompanying video depicting a cowboy's quest through a human landscape. Bellamy's mother, Marilyn, was born in Belfast
, and moved to England in the 1970s. On her first day in England she met George, who was at the time working as a taxi driver in London. They later moved to Cambridge, where Matthew's older brother Paul was born, followed a couple of years later by Matthew himself. Bellamy started playing the piano at age 6 and guitar when he was 14.
In the mid-1980s, the family moved to Teignmouth
, Devon
. After the divorce of Bellamy's parents, he moved in with his grandmother, who pushed him towards learning to play the guitar at the age of fourteen.
(drums and percussion). Muse met at Teignmouth Community College
where Bellamy had been in a number of bands previously including Carnage Mayhem and Gothic Plague with drummer Dominic Howard. When members of Gothic Plague left because of other interests, Bellamy and Howard asked Wolstenholme to join. Muse however struggled to establish themselves during their early years, but have since gone on to enjoy worldwide success. Muse blend alternative
, hard rock
, progressive rock
, classical music
and electronica
and are well known for their energetic and visually dazzling live performances. On 16–17 June 2007 Muse became the first band to sell out the newly built Wembley Stadium
in London. Muse have released five studio albums, Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry
(2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations
(2006) and The Resistance
(2009). Muse have also released one live album, HAARP (2008) and two compilation albums. The first, Random 1-8 was only released in Japan and is a collection of B-sides from the Showbiz period. The second compilation Hullabaloo
(2002) consisted of two discs and was designed to accompany the Hullabaloo DVD. The first disc contains a collection of B-sides
recorded between March 1999 and October 2001. The second disc features 11 live songs recorded on 28–29 October 2001 at 'le Zenith' in Paris. Bellamy also makes an appearance as a playable character in Guitar Hero 5
, which features the song "Plug In Baby
", from Origin of Symmetry.
's list of The 50 Greatest Guitarists Ever. Total Guitar
readers voted Bellamy #29 on a list of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time.
Bellamy's riff
from "Plug In Baby
" was #13 in Total Guitar's poll of the Top 100 Riffs of All Time.
In April 2005, Kerrang!
magazine ranked him #28 in their "50 Sexiest People In Rock" poll. Cosmopolitan
also chose him as the sexiest rocker of 2003 and 2004. NME
Magazine voted him the 14th Greatest Rock 'n' roll Hero of all time, ahead of John Lennon
and Bob Dylan
. Bellamy also won the Sexiest Male Award at the 2007 NME Awards
, He won again in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Bellamy, however, declared himself "too short to be sexy" (he is 5' 7"), and said the award should have gone to Dom Howard
, Muse's drummer.
On 26 September 2008, the University of Plymouth
awarded the members of Muse an honourary doctorate
degree in arts for their work in the field of music.
In the January 2010 edition of Total Guitar, Bellamy was named "Guitarist of the Decade" and was proclaimed to be "the Hendrix of his generation". In the Guinness Book of World Records 2010
, Bellamy is credited as holding the world record for most guitars smashed on a tour. His record, 140, was set during the Absolution Tour. In April 2010, Bellamy was named the eighth best front man of all time by the readers of Q
. In December 2010, readers of MusicRadar
voted Bellamy the 9th Greatest Lead Singer of all time.
, Devon. He currently has a number of Manson guitars, as well as instruments by other manufacturers including a Fender 'Aloha' Stratocaster, a Gibson Les Paul DC
Lite, a Gibson SG
, Jackson
Randy Rhoads
(custom, only used once live and then thrown into the crowd. Its current whereabouts is unknown), a Parker Fly
, a Peavey
EVH Wolfgang, a Jay Turser JT-res Resonator in the video for Plug in Baby
and finally a Yamaha Pacifica
. Bellamy's famous Manson shape has been compared to a Yamaha Pacifica, a Fender Telecaster
, a Schecter
and a Godin
Triumph. Bellamy stated that he loved the classic guitar that Jimi Hendrix
used.
which gives Bellamy his distinctive sound and the ability to manipulate the pedals oscillation sounds without bending down. In addition, it has an MXR Phase 90
phaser, a Roland midi pickup (which is now no longer used) and uses Bare Knuckle and Kent Armstrong pickups. All of his other Mansons follow this same basic design (apart from Bellamy's 7-string which was not originally built for him but for a local jazz guitarist) with some just having different pickups and finishes, as with his mirrored Manson and the rejected "Rust Relic". Bellamy's black Manson has a MIDI strip that controls a DigiTech Whammy IV
, when it is connected, a Z.Vex Wah Probe and a number of other built in effects. Manson guitars have also made a guitar for Bellamy called the "Keytarcaster", it is a guitar with strings but no pickups and a two octave keyboard built into the body of the guitar. It is used live during "Undisclosed Desires
".
For the 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations, he bought a new guitar, the "Black Kaoss Manson". The guitar features two Bare Knuckle Humbuckers, a Fernandes Sustainer System on the neck and an X/Y MIDI Controller pad which connects to a Korg Kaoss Pad
. He also bought the M1D1 (which he later destroyed), which is similar to the Black Kaoss Manson but has a Bare Knuckle Nail Bomb humbucker
in the bridge position and a Fernandes Sustainer System (FSK-101 model, which is the humbucker version of the latter one) on the neck. He is also known to use an Ibanez Destroyer on stage (Hullabaloo). Bellamy uses Diezel
amp heads, along with Marshall
Mode Four cabinets, Soldano
Cabinets and Line 6 digital effects. In September 2009, Bellamy has mentioned the extensive use of Dickinson amplifiers on their album The Resistance
. Most of Bellamy's rack effects are made with Line 6 modules. On 14 April 2009, Manson Guitars announced on their website that they had brought out a line of Matthew Bellamy signature guitars, based on the Seattle, Glitterati and Delorean models. They all have the option of MIDI touch pads. The DeLorean model has the option of and inbuilt Fuzz Factory and MXR Phase 90.
views as well as a dislike of political corruption
. "Assassin" and "Uprising
" are two notable songs with obvious revolutionary sentiments. In an interview with Q Magazine
, Bellamy stated that he is a libertarian
. In 2006 Bellamy said that he believed the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job
". However, in 2009 he told Rolling Stone that he did not believe this: "There is loads of stuff on the Internet suggesting 9/11 was an inside job. But that is not my belief.”
On 17 September 2009 Bellamy discussed being politically influenced by reading "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins. He explains the book helped inspire the song "Uprising" and expressed his views that he feels lobbyists have undue influence on politicians as well as the political system. He states that "when people become powerful they often have a disregard for public opinion."
. He wrote the song "Soaked", which appears on Adam Lambert
's début album, For Your Entertainment
. Bellamy appears as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero 5
, along with the song "Plug In Baby
".
in spring 2010. It was announced in January 2011 that she was pregnant with their child. On 27 April 2011 Hudson announced that she and Bellamy had become engaged the prior week. The couple's son named Bingham 'Bing' Hawn Bellamy was born on 9 July 2011.
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, best known as the lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, lead guitarist, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and main songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
of the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
.
Early life
Bellamy's father, George, was rhythm guitarist in the 1960s pop group The TornadosThe Tornados
The Tornados were an English instrumental group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. Number One "Telstar" , the first U.S...
, who were the first British band to have a United States number one song, with "Telstar
Telstar (song)
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental record performed by The Tornados. It was the first single by a British band to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was also a number one hit in the UK. The record was named after the AT&T communications satellite Telstar, which went into orbit in...
". "Knights of Cydonia
Knights of Cydonia
"Knights of Cydonia" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse and is the closing track on the British release of their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations. The song's title comes in part from the region of Mars named Cydonia, famous for the "face on mars"...
", a single from Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
's fourth album Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
, is often cited as a tribute to that song, with its space rock sound and accompanying video depicting a cowboy's quest through a human landscape. Bellamy's mother, Marilyn, was born in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and moved to England in the 1970s. On her first day in England she met George, who was at the time working as a taxi driver in London. They later moved to Cambridge, where Matthew's older brother Paul was born, followed a couple of years later by Matthew himself. Bellamy started playing the piano at age 6 and guitar when he was 14.
In the mid-1980s, the family moved to Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. After the divorce of Bellamy's parents, he moved in with his grandmother, who pushed him towards learning to play the guitar at the age of fourteen.
Muse
Muse formed in Teignmouth, Devon in 1994 under the name of Rocket Baby Dolls. Still using the name Rocket Baby Dolls, they won the school's "Battle of the Bands" which led them to take the band seriously and so they decided to change their name to a more "professional" one; Muse. The band consisted and still consists of Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Dominic HowardDominic Howard
Dominic James "Dom" Howard , is the drummer for the English rock band Muse.-Early life:Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with his family to Teignmouth, a small town in Devon. He began playing drums at about the age of 12, when he...
(drums and percussion). Muse met at Teignmouth Community College
Teignmouth Community College
Teignmouth Community School is a Community Academy in Teignmouth, Devon, England for pupils aged 3 - 19, and as of 2010 has approximately 1,555 on roll of which around 170 are in the Sixth Form. It is the only non fee secondary school in the town, with other secondary education in Teignmouth being...
where Bellamy had been in a number of bands previously including Carnage Mayhem and Gothic Plague with drummer Dominic Howard. When members of Gothic Plague left because of other interests, Bellamy and Howard asked Wolstenholme to join. Muse however struggled to establish themselves during their early years, but have since gone on to enjoy worldwide success. Muse blend alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and are well known for their energetic and visually dazzling live performances. On 16–17 June 2007 Muse became the first band to sell out the newly built Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in London. Muse have released five studio albums, Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
(2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
(2006) and The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
(2009). Muse have also released one live album, HAARP (2008) and two compilation albums. The first, Random 1-8 was only released in Japan and is a collection of B-sides from the Showbiz period. The second compilation Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Notes*A sample of Tom Waits's "What's He Building?" can be heard in disc two's pregap *The Intro of Rachmaninov's 'Prelude in C Sharp Minor "The Bells of Moscow"' is played at the beginning of Track 7 Disc 2.-Japanese release track listing:...
(2002) consisted of two discs and was designed to accompany the Hullabaloo DVD. The first disc contains a collection of B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
recorded between March 1999 and October 2001. The second disc features 11 live songs recorded on 28–29 October 2001 at 'le Zenith' in Paris. Bellamy also makes an appearance as a playable character in Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
, which features the song "Plug In Baby
Plug In Baby
"Plug In Baby" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2001 second studio album Origin of Symmetry. Released as the lead single from the album on 5 March 2001, "Plug In Baby" became the band's highest-charting single when it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,...
", from Origin of Symmetry.
Rankings in critics' lists and opinion polls
Bellamy was ranked #19 on GigwiseGigwise.com
Gigwise.com is an online music magazine that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets, and a community forum. Founded in 2001, the magazine is based in the United Kingdom....
's list of The 50 Greatest Guitarists Ever. Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Total Guitar is a monthly magazine based in the United Kingdom. The magazine is the best selling guitar magazine in Europe.The magazine is owned by Future Publishing, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to mountain bikes and knitting magazines.Total Guitar regularly...
readers voted Bellamy #29 on a list of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time.
Bellamy's riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
from "Plug In Baby
Plug In Baby
"Plug In Baby" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2001 second studio album Origin of Symmetry. Released as the lead single from the album on 5 March 2001, "Plug In Baby" became the band's highest-charting single when it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,...
" was #13 in Total Guitar's poll of the Top 100 Riffs of All Time.
In April 2005, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine ranked him #28 in their "50 Sexiest People In Rock" poll. Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
also chose him as the sexiest rocker of 2003 and 2004. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
Magazine voted him the 14th Greatest Rock 'n' roll Hero of all time, ahead of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. Bellamy also won the Sexiest Male Award at the 2007 NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
, He won again in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Bellamy, however, declared himself "too short to be sexy" (he is 5' 7"), and said the award should have gone to Dom Howard
Dominic Howard
Dominic James "Dom" Howard , is the drummer for the English rock band Muse.-Early life:Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with his family to Teignmouth, a small town in Devon. He began playing drums at about the age of 12, when he...
, Muse's drummer.
On 26 September 2008, the University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
awarded the members of Muse an honourary doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
degree in arts for their work in the field of music.
In the January 2010 edition of Total Guitar, Bellamy was named "Guitarist of the Decade" and was proclaimed to be "the Hendrix of his generation". In the Guinness Book of World Records 2010
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, Bellamy is credited as holding the world record for most guitars smashed on a tour. His record, 140, was set during the Absolution Tour. In April 2010, Bellamy was named the eighth best front man of all time by the readers of Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
. In December 2010, readers of MusicRadar
MusicRadar
MusicRadar is a website for musicians. It covers information pertaining to artists and music, special features, product news and reviews, music lessons and a social network service in the style of Facebook and Myspace...
voted Bellamy the 9th Greatest Lead Singer of all time.
Musical equipment
Bellamy uses custom guitars designed by himself and Hugh Manson made in ExeterExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, Devon. He currently has a number of Manson guitars, as well as instruments by other manufacturers including a Fender 'Aloha' Stratocaster, a Gibson Les Paul DC
Gibson Les Paul Doublecut
The Gibson Les Paul Doublecut is a double-cutaway version of the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.- Models :Except for Gibson Custom Shop/Historic models, there are currently four types of the Les Paul double cut model, all of which have been discontinued:...
Lite, a Gibson SG
Gibson SG
At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
, Jackson
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads
Randall William "Randy" Rhoads was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. While on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, he would seek out...
(custom, only used once live and then thrown into the crowd. Its current whereabouts is unknown), a Parker Fly
Parker Fly
The Parker Fly is a type of electric guitar built by Parker Guitars. It was designed by Ken Parker and Larry Fishman, and first produced in 1993. The Fly is unique among electric guitars in the way it uses composite materials. It is notable for its light weight and resonance...
, a Peavey
Peavey Guitars
Peavey Guitars are electric, acoustic, and electric bass guitars branded by Peavey Electronics, a recognized pioneer in musical instrument manufacturing.-Guitars:*Axcelerator Series**Axcelerator...
EVH Wolfgang, a Jay Turser JT-res Resonator in the video for Plug in Baby
Plug In Baby
"Plug In Baby" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2001 second studio album Origin of Symmetry. Released as the lead single from the album on 5 March 2001, "Plug In Baby" became the band's highest-charting single when it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,...
and finally a Yamaha Pacifica
Yamaha Pacifica
Yamaha Pacifica is the name of a series of electric guitars manufactured by Yamaha. The line was originally designed in Yamaha's California custom-shop by Rich Lasner, working with guitar builder Leo Knapp...
. Bellamy's famous Manson shape has been compared to a Yamaha Pacifica, a Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
, a Schecter
Schecter Guitar Research
Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known as simply as Schecter, is a US guitar manufacturer. The company was founded in 1976 by David Schecter and originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson...
and a Godin
Godin (Guitar Manufacturer)
- History :Godin started building Robert Godin's guitars in 1972 in La Patrie, Quebec.Godin Guitars' head office is located in Montreal, and they build their instruments in six factories in four different locations, three in Quebec and one in New Hampshire....
Triumph. Bellamy stated that he loved the classic guitar that Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
used.
Custom Hugh Manson instruments
The first and most famous is his silver Manson (named Delorean). Bellamy came up with the basic concept for this guitar and Hugh Manson helped him realize it. It has a built-in Z.Vex Fuzz FactoryZ.Vex Fuzz Factory
The Z.Vex Fuzz Factory is a fuzz box made by the American inventor and musician Zachary Vex of the Z.Vex Effects company.The Fuzz Factory is based on, yet vastly expands the tonal palette of, classic fuzztone designs from the 1960s...
which gives Bellamy his distinctive sound and the ability to manipulate the pedals oscillation sounds without bending down. In addition, it has an MXR Phase 90
MXR Phase 90
The MXR Phase 90 is a phaser effects pedal originally designed in the 1970s by MXR.-History:The Phase 90 was released in 1972. It was the first pedal sold by MXR and helped launch the company. The original came in a simple orange enclosure with MXR's "script" logo. In 1977 MXR changed its logo to...
phaser, a Roland midi pickup (which is now no longer used) and uses Bare Knuckle and Kent Armstrong pickups. All of his other Mansons follow this same basic design (apart from Bellamy's 7-string which was not originally built for him but for a local jazz guitarist) with some just having different pickups and finishes, as with his mirrored Manson and the rejected "Rust Relic". Bellamy's black Manson has a MIDI strip that controls a DigiTech Whammy IV
Digitech Whammy
-Overview:The WH-1 Whammy pedal, the original whammy, first engineered and manufactured in 1989 by IVL Technologies and discontinued in 1993, remains the most sought-after.-Controls:...
, when it is connected, a Z.Vex Wah Probe and a number of other built in effects. Manson guitars have also made a guitar for Bellamy called the "Keytarcaster", it is a guitar with strings but no pickups and a two octave keyboard built into the body of the guitar. It is used live during "Undisclosed Desires
Undisclosed Desires
"Undisclosed Desires", also known as "Undisclosed", is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2009 fifth studio album The Resistance...
".
For the 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations, he bought a new guitar, the "Black Kaoss Manson". The guitar features two Bare Knuckle Humbuckers, a Fernandes Sustainer System on the neck and an X/Y MIDI Controller pad which connects to a Korg Kaoss Pad
Kaoss Pad
The Kaoss Pad is a touchpad MIDI controller, sampler, and effects processor for audio and musical instruments, made by Korg.The Kaoss Pad's touchpad can be used to control its internal effects engine, which can be applied to a line-in signal or to samples recorded from the line-in...
. He also bought the M1D1 (which he later destroyed), which is similar to the Black Kaoss Manson but has a Bare Knuckle Nail Bomb humbucker
Humbucker
A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
in the bridge position and a Fernandes Sustainer System (FSK-101 model, which is the humbucker version of the latter one) on the neck. He is also known to use an Ibanez Destroyer on stage (Hullabaloo). Bellamy uses Diezel
Diezel
Diezel Amplification GmbH is a small firm based in Bad Steben, Germany, founded by Peter Diezel, that builds high-end guitar amplifiers. The company was established in 1994.-Bands and artists:...
amp heads, along with Marshall
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
Mode Four cabinets, Soldano
Soldano
Soldano is a guitar amplifier manufacturing company, founded in 1986 by Michael Soldano in Los Angeles, California and later relocated to Seattle, Washington. It is mostly known for its modern high gain amps, particularly their flagship model — Soldano SLO-100, but product lineup also...
Cabinets and Line 6 digital effects. In September 2009, Bellamy has mentioned the extensive use of Dickinson amplifiers on their album The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
. Most of Bellamy's rack effects are made with Line 6 modules. On 14 April 2009, Manson Guitars announced on their website that they had brought out a line of Matthew Bellamy signature guitars, based on the Seattle, Glitterati and Delorean models. They all have the option of MIDI touch pads. The DeLorean model has the option of and inbuilt Fuzz Factory and MXR Phase 90.
Political views
Many of his songs display revolutionaryRevolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
views as well as a dislike of political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. "Assassin" and "Uprising
Uprising (song)
"Uprising" is a song by English rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 September 2009...
" are two notable songs with obvious revolutionary sentiments. In an interview with Q Magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, Bellamy stated that he is a libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
. In 2006 Bellamy said that he believed the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job
9/11 conspiracy theories
9/11 conspiracy theories are theories that disagree with the widely accepted account that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated solely by al-Qaeda. These theories arose because of what proponents of the conspiracy theories believe to be inconsistencies in the official conclusions or some...
". However, in 2009 he told Rolling Stone that he did not believe this: "There is loads of stuff on the Internet suggesting 9/11 was an inside job. But that is not my belief.”
On 17 September 2009 Bellamy discussed being politically influenced by reading "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins. He explains the book helped inspire the song "Uprising" and expressed his views that he feels lobbyists have undue influence on politicians as well as the political system. He states that "when people become powerful they often have a disregard for public opinion."
Other appearances
Bellamy also co-wrote the end credits for the 2009 film The InternationalThe International (film)
The International is a 2009 thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer. The film follows an Interpol agent and an American attorney who investigate corruption within the IBBC, a fictional merchant bank based in Luxembourg. It serves organized crime and corrupt governments as a banker and as an arms...
. He wrote the song "Soaked", which appears on Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter, and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol...
's début album, For Your Entertainment
For Your Entertainment (album)
For Your Entertainment is the debut studio album by Adam Lambert, the American Idol season 8 runner-up. It was released on November 23, 2009...
. Bellamy appears as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
, along with the song "Plug In Baby
Plug In Baby
"Plug In Baby" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2001 second studio album Origin of Symmetry. Released as the lead single from the album on 5 March 2001, "Plug In Baby" became the band's highest-charting single when it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,...
".
Personal life
Bellamy began dating actress Kate HudsonKate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson is an American actress. She came to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Almost Famous. She then starred in the hit film How to Lose a Guy in 10...
in spring 2010. It was announced in January 2011 that she was pregnant with their child. On 27 April 2011 Hudson announced that she and Bellamy had become engaged the prior week. The couple's son named Bingham 'Bing' Hawn Bellamy was born on 9 July 2011.