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A band's average age - 20. Ten years ago, the parents of Chris Wolstenholme, Matthew Bellamy and Dominic Howard relocated to Teignmouth, Devon. As Matt remembers it: "All we used to do was hang around, smoke and listen to music. There wasn't anything else to do."
Aged 13, the three of them formed their own band, Gothic Plague. With Chris on bass, Dominic drums and Matthew as guitarist / reluctant lead singer, they tormented their peers with ramshackle covers of early 90's indie classics. It wasn't a massive success. So after Gothic Plague came Fixed Penalty, and after Fixed Penalty, Rocket Baby Dolls. The lack of interest didn't deter them, if anything it just spurred them on. At the same time, the advent of Britpop gave them a brand new outlet for their frustrations.
With the rest of the country engrossed in the fortunes of Blur and Oasis, Matt, Chris and Dominic turned their attentions to the other side of the Atlantic. Nights and days were wiled away in the company of Primus and The Smashing Pumpkins, and never far from their stereos were dog-eared copies of Nirvana's "Nevermind" and Radiohead's "The Bends" - two albums that altered their whole idea of what music could mean. With their name changed to Muse, things started to get more serious. Rehearsals became more frequent, and they picked up gigs wherever they could - not easy when you're 250 miles away from the centre of London. And this is where the story accelerates. Hooking up with Taste Media , Muse suddenly found themselves at 1998's "In The City". At the same time, a couple of American labels began to show interest, and in November of the same year, the band flew out to New York to play at CMJ.
Two weeks later, they were flown to the States again, this time to LA, where they played a showcase on the Santa Monica pier. As others deliberated, Madonna's label Maverick took the opportunity to move in and sign them on the spot. The deal was clinched on Christmas Eve and was rapidly followed by them signing to Motor in Germany, Naïve in France and finally Mushroom Records in the UK. After five years hard slog, the band had gone from 0 to 4 record deals in a couple of months.
Their first two EP's "Muse" and "Muscle Museum" emerged on Sawmill's own Dangerous Records label which both quickly sold out. All this setting the blueprint for what is to follow: a tidal wave of serrated guitar noises and seething lyrical anger; it reveals a band determined to match and surpass their mentors. It was enough to ensure that when they started to record their debut album a few weeks later John Leckie (producer of among other things, 'The Bends') was only too happy to join them.
Matt: "I don't think I can explain my songs yet. I need to think about it more. I know what I'm saying, but I'm afraid of ruining what other people think the songs are about."
Soon, of course you'll be able to judge for yourself. They're already confirmed as part of Steve Lamacq's Evening Session Tour, along with Three Colours Red and The Donnas, followed swiftly by nine dates with Feeder and they'll also be playing Glastonbury and Reading, before embarking on a three month tour of America in September.
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Albums
| Year | Label | Title | |
| 1997 | Dangerous Records | Muse (EP) | |
| 1998 | Dangerous Records | Muscle Museum (EP) | |
| 1999 | Maverick/Taste Media | Showbitz | |
Singles
| Year | Label | Title | |
| 1999 | Maverick/Taste Media | Uno | |
| 1999 | Maverick/Taste Media | Cave | |
| 2000 | Maverick/Taste Media | Muscle Museum | |
| 2000 | Maverick/Taste Media | Sunburn | |
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