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About Muse
Formed in 1994, Muse
come from Teignmouth in
Devon. The band members
are Matthew Bellamy –
lead vocals, guitar and
piano, Christopher
Wolstenholme – bass and
backing vocals, and
Dominic Howard – drums.
They started out under
the name Rocket Baby
Dolls, and after winning
a local Battle of The
Bands contest, realised
that they had the
potential to be
successful. At this
point they changed the
band name to Muse, and
started to concentrate
on their music full
time.
In 2008 the 3 band
members were awarded
Honorary Doctorates by
Plymouth University.
The bands music is
influenced by many
genres including
electronica, progressive
rock and classical.
After recording a couple
of EPs early in their
career, Muse came to the
attention of radio DJ
Steve Lamacq and the NME.
They signed a deal with
Taste Media, with whom
they recorded their
first three albums.
After showcasing for
record executives in the
USA, Muse then signed
with Maverick Records.
Muse have released 5
albums to date. One of
their albums features a
track called Feeling
Good which was a new
version of a song by
Anthony Newley and
Leslie Bricusse. The
band successfully sued
Nestlé, who used the
track without their
permission in a TV
advert for Nescafé. The
£500,000 compensation
was donated to Oxfam.
2003 Absolution spawned
5 singles, Time Is
Running Out, Hysteria,
Sing For Absolution,
Stockholm Syndrome, and
Butterflies and
Hurricanes. The biggest
hits were Time is
Running Out and
Hysteria. The album
achieved gold status in
the USA.
2006 Black Holes and
Revelations received a
nomination for the
Mercury Prize for this
album and it was number
3 in the NME Albums of
The Year List. It
reached number 1 in the
album chart in the UK,
Australia and many parts
of Europe. The album was
awarded a Platinum
Europe Award after
selling 1 million copies
across the continent.
Notable singles from
this album include
Supermassive Black Hole,
Starlight and the epic
Knights of Cydonia.
2009 The Resistance, the
fifth album, was
released in September
2009. The first single
is called Uprising, with
another track entitled
United States of Eurasia
available as a free
download from the band’s
official website.
Muse have consistently
won awards throughout
their career – a total
of 24 awards from 60
nominations. Accolades
include 4 Kerrang!
Awards, 5 MTV Europe
Music Awards including
Best Alternative Act, 2
BRIT Awards – one of
which was Best Live Act
in 2005, 5 Q Awards such
as Best Live Act and 6
NME Awards.
Muse are well known for
their energetic and
extravagant live
performances. They have
supported the Red Hot
Chilli Peppers and The
Foo Fighters and
undertook their first
major international
stadium tour in 2004.
They also played at
Glastonbury in 2004 and
took part in Live 8.
2006 saw them playing
Radio 1’s Big Weekend
and the Reading and
Leeds’ Festivals,
followed by US and
European tours with live
performances continuing
throughout 2007 and
2008.
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