Muse - Showbiz
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written By: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 07.09.1999
"It was only when I was 18 or 19 that I started expressing myself more and became more confident about doing it. I became the singer by default. There was nobody else who wanted to sing, and it wasn't really cool to sing falsetto when bands like "Nirvana" were setting the tone," says Matt Bellamy and adds:
"But then we saw Jeff Buckley perform, and he wasn't afraid to be a man with a high voice. I think that helped me open up and not be afraid to use a more expressive and emotional vocal style."
Bellamy and his band "Muse" are a fascinating combination of rock and classical motifs that somewhat recall "Queen". Bellamy himself has a vocal range that sits somewhere in the Thom Yorke-meets-Jeff Buckley area, from whom, as mentioned, he drew inspiration early in his career.
Bellamy was born in June 1978 in Cambridge. His father, George Bellamy, was the rhythm guitarist of the 1960s pop band "The Tornados", a band that also included Robb Huxley, who later joined "The Churchills".
He started playing piano at the age of six and guitar at 11. His first musical performance was in June 1991, at the age of 12, when he played piano at Teignmouth Community School.
Speaking of Yorke and "Radiohead", it was the talented producer John Leckie, who produced "The Bends", who was brought in alongside Paul Reeve to produce "Showbiz", the debut album by "Muse".
"Muse" was formed in Devon in 1994 by Matt Bellamy on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Chris Wolstenholme on bass and Dominic Howard on drums. The members of "Muse" played in different bands at the school they attended in the early 1990s.
The formation of the band began when the 14-year-old Bellamy auditioned as guitarist for Howard's band. After their bass player left, the two brought in their friend Wolstenholme, who until then had played drums and learned bass guitar for the band. Bellamy became the lead singer and songwriter.
The band changed its name several times and was called "Gothic Plague", "Fixed Penalty", "Carnage Mayhem" and "Rocket Baby Dolls". In 1994, under the name "Rocket Baby Dolls" and with a prog-goth image, the band won the local "Battle of the Bands" competition while smashing their instruments.
Speaking of smashing instruments, and guitars in particular, frontman Matt Bellamy holds a Guinness World Record for no fewer than 140 guitars smashed by him during the "Absolution" tour. Some say he still hasn't caught Pete Townshend in career totals.
Following that victory, the band members chose to focus on a professional career. They changed the band name to "Muse" and began playing local clubs.
According to journalist Mark Beaumont, the band wanted the name to reflect "the sense Matthew had that he had somehow 'summoned' this band, in the way mediums can summon inspirational spirits at times of emotional need."
After several years in which a fan base was built in London and the first shows were played in London and Manchester, the band met Dennis Smith, owner of Sawmills recording studio.
The meeting led to the first professional recordings and the release of the "Muse" EP. The second EP, "Muscle Museum EP", reached number three on the indie chart and attracted the attention of radio presenter Steve Lamacq and the British music magazine "NME".
Despite the success of the second EP, British record companies were reluctant to sign "Muse", and it was actually the American "Maverick Records", owned by Madonna, that signed "Muse" in December 1998 to a recording contract in the United States.
John Leckie was brought in alongside Reeve to produce the band's first album, "Showbiz" (1999). The album introduced the aggressive yet melancholic musical style of "Muse", with lyrics about relationships and the difficulties they faced trying to establish themselves in their hometown, together with the theatrical falsetto of Matt Bellamy.
The first single from the album, in perfect coordination, was called "Uno", which means 1 in Spanish. The lyrics deal with potential and its failure to be fulfilled. During its recording, the amplifier used for the guitar exploded, something that happened again on other songs while "Showbiz" was being recorded.
On "Cave", the second single, Bellamy describes the moment when a man reaches a stressful point for him, the moment when he essentially disconnects and goes into a "cave". The inspiration for the idea came from John Gray's book "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus".
The third single from the album, "Muscle Museum", which had previously also appeared as the title track of "Muscle Museum EP", was the one that brought the breakthrough when it reached the UK Top 25. Matt Bellamy wrote the song during a stay on the Greek islands, and as a result the song sounds like a "Greek wedding".
Bellamy explained the meaning of the song by saying: "It is about different elements in our existence - the soul and the body - not allowing another element to do what it wants to do. It is connected to the conflict of not knowing what you want to do in life on a whole range of issues."
The song title does not appear in the lyrics. After putting the song together, the band members struggled to find a name for it, so they opened the dictionary and took one word before "Muse" and one word after it, and that is how we got "Muscle Museum".
The video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who also made the videos for "Say My Name" by "Destiny's Child" and "Elevation" by "U2". In the clip, people carrying out ordinary activities, such as brushing their teeth or driving, suddenly burst into tears.
The fourth single, "Sunburn", deals with new experiences and moving into a new world in both the mental and physical sense, a little like the feeling "Muse" had at the beginning, from their first moments when they went from drawing pictures, decorating and signing a contract to flying first class to Los Angeles.
The fifth single, with its deeply melancholy melody, "Unintended", found frontman Matt Bellamy picking up the pieces of his broken heart so he could put it back together for someone new.
Bellamy explains how the love song made it onto the album: "There are also a few unintended love songs. The song I wrote about the girl was written in the studio after a phone call with her. We called it 'Unintended' because it came out of nowhere, and I didn't intend for it to happen, all these feelings for this girl."
Leckie would continue refining the sound of "Muse" toward the next album, when he gave them their first listening experience of "The Dark Side of the Moon" by "Pink Floyd".
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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