Matt Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy
9 June 1978
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Teignmouth, Devon, England
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
- keyboards
- bass
1991–present
- George Bellamy (father)
Bellamy has released solo compositions, and released a compilation of his solo tracks, Cryosleep, in 2021. He plays bass in the supergroup the Jaded Hearts Club, and produced their debut album, You've Always Been Here (2020).
With Muse, Bellamy has won two Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album, for The Resistance (2009) and Drones (2015); two Brit Awards for Best British Live Act; five MTV Europe Music Awards; and eight NME Awards. Muse have sold over 30 million albums worldwide.[2] In 2012, they received the Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
Early life[edit]
Matthew James Bellamy was born on 9 June 1978 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. He has an older brother named Paul. His father, George Bellamy, was the rhythm guitarist of the 1960s pop group the Tornados, whose 1962 single "Telstar" was the first US number one by an English band.[3] His mother, Marilyn, was born in Belfast and moved to England in the 1970s. On her first day in England, she met Bellamy's father, who was working as a taxi driver in London at the time. The couple moved to Cambridge and in the mid-1980s to Teignmouth, Devon. After his parents divorced, Bellamy lived with his mother and brother. He started playing the piano at the age of six and guitar when he was 11. His first musical performance was in June 1991, aged 12, playing piano in front of his school at Teignmouth Community School.[4]
Lyrics[edit]
Bellamy's lyrics incorporate political and dystopian themes. Books that have influenced lyrical themes in his songs include Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell,[22] Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins,[23] Hyperspace by Michio Kaku,[24] The 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin[25] and Trance Formation of America by Cathy O'Brien.[26]
Accolades[edit]
In 2004, Total Guitar readers voted Bellamy the 29th-greatest guitarist and his "Plug in Baby" riff the 13th-greatest riff.[36] In 2008, Gigwise named Bellamy the 19th-greatest guitarist ever.[37]
In April 2005, Kerrang! named Bellamy the 28th-sexiest person in rock. Cosmopolitan also chose him as the sexiest rocker of 2003 and 2004. NME named him the 14th-greatest "rock 'n' roll hero", ahead of John Lennon and Bob Dylan. Bellamy also won the Sexiest Male Award at the 2007 NME Awards.[38] He won again in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 and was nominated in 2012. Bellamy, however, declared himself "too short to be sexy" (he is 5' 7"), and said the award should have gone to Dominic Howard, Muse's drummer. Bellamy also won the "Hero of the Year" award at the 2012 NME Awards. On 26 September 2008, the University of Plymouth awarded the members of Muse an honorary doctorate degree for their work in music.[39]
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".[40] 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.[41] In December 2010, MusicRadar readers voted Bellamy the 9th greatest lead singer of all time.[42] In 2010, a BBC Radio 6 survey named Bellamy the third-best guitarist of the last 30 years.[43]
Political views[edit]
Bellamy describes himself as a "left-leaning libertarian"[44] and "in the realm of Noam Chomsky".[45] He supports the abolition of the British monarchy, the abolition of the House of Lords, decentralised government, decarbonisation, land value tax and limits on the size of corporations.[44] In 2009, he said had been influenced by Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins for the song "Uprising", and argued that lobbyists have undue influence on politics. He said that "when people become powerful they often have a disregard for public opinion".[46] In 2022, he used the term "meta-centrism" to describe his political views, calling it "an oscillation between liberal, libertarian values for individuals ... but then more socialist on things like land ownership, nature and energy distribution".[47] He invests in startups in Silicon Valley focusing on clean energy. He said: "That has given me optimism. When you hear their ideas and their vision for the future, it does give you genuine hope that a lot of the biggest issues we're facing could be solved."[44]
Earlier in his career, Bellamy expressed interest in conspiracy theories, including the theory that the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job".[44] However, in 2022, he described these notions as quackery and said he had abandoned them. He said conspiracy theories were attractive because they were distractions from pressing issues and that "there's a comfort that maybe human beings somewhere, even if they're evil, are in control, when in fact the truth is far more frightening – there are no humans in control and it's all a bunch of chaos".[44] Bellamy is vaccinated against COVID-19 and supported masking during the COVID-19 pandemic.[47]
Bellamy expressed discomfort when the lyrics of Muse's 2009 album The Resistance were adopted by the rightwing Fox News anchor Glenn Beck, and when the song "Uprising" was used in YouTube videos advocating for conspiracy theories. Muse refused requests from American politicians to use "Uprising" in their rallies.[45] Beck responded in an open letter to Bellamy: "As uncomfortable as it might be for you, I will still play your songs loudly. To me your songs are anthems that beg for choruses of unity and pose the fundamental question facing the world today – can man rule himself?"[48]
Personal life[edit]
Bellamy began dating the American actress Kate Hudson in mid-2010.[49] They became engaged in April 2011.[50] Their son was born in July 2011.[51] In December 2014, Bellamy and Hudson announced that they had ended their engagement.[52]
In February 2017, Bellamy bought the former home of the tennis player Pete Sampras, a 6,900-square-foot (640 m2) estate in Brentwood, Los Angeles, for $6.9 million.[53] In February 2015, Bellamy began dating the American model Elle Evans. They announced their engagement in December 2017[54][55] and married on 10 August 2019.[56] Their daughter was born in June 2020.[57]
As of 2022, Bellamy was living in Los Angeles during school periods to be close to his son and spending the holidays in London.[44] That year, Bellamy said he was considering applying for an Irish passport to regain his European Union citizenship following Brexit, as he qualified through his Belfast-born mother.[58]
Muse
The Jaded Hearts Club
Solo
Guest appearances
