"NO ONE TELLS US WHAT TO DO!" - MUSE are one of the world's most successful bands, thanks to the power of bananas — and outmaneuvering Madonna.

The Red Bulletin

August 2015

They’ve sold more than 17 million albums, won a Grammy and go on huge sold-out tours; Muse have now been superstars and critics’ favorites since 1999. Lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, one third of the British band, explains why they won’t settle for second best, whether we’re talking instruments or record contracts.

Q: What does it feel like being heralded as the Jimi Hendrix of your generation?

MATTHEW: Compliments like that are flattering, of course, but they’re total nonsense.

Q: But they’re not baseless. You’ve revolutionized the guitar like Hendrix did back in the 1960s.

MATTHEW: I’ve been playing the guitar since I was 11. The better I got at it, the more constrained I felt by what it could do. No wonder most creative people now make music on computers. That’s why I’ve made a guitar for the 21st century.

Q: What’s your guitar capable of?

MATTHEW: It’s got a built-in touchscreen linked directly to a computer, which gives the musician a completely new feel. I hope it’s a way of getting tech-savvy kids interested in the instrument.

Q: Your guitar is on sale for $6,000. What should a young musician who can’t afford that do?

MATTHEW: He should do exactly what I did: find a craftsman and design his own guitar. The Internet is full of suggestions and instructions. It’s a very basic principle: If you’re not satisfied with what life has to offer, then reshape it according to what you want. And don’t let anyone tell you what to do.

Q: Can you give us an example from your career?

MATTHEW: Madonna wanted to release our debut album. Showbiz, on her record label in the U.S. in 1999. But on one condition: She wanted us to re-record our songs and make them more catchy. We told her where to go and the deal fell through. But I know that if that hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Q: Which is gigs with up to 100,000 fans. How do you prepare yourself for such huge shows?

MATTHEW: I eat bananas before every gig. I picked up the ritual watching Boris Becker play tennis as a kid. When he won Wimbledon, he was always stuffing himself with bananas between games. I thought to myself, “They must be a secret weapon.” 

Q: Is it possible that the bananas give you too much energy? You’re listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the musician who smashed the most guitars on a single tour: 140.

MATTHEW: I think that’s an exaggeration. But I was definitely in a bad way on our 2004 tour. We’d saddled ourselves with far too many gigs and we were struggling with technical problems. It was a nightmare. That’s why I sometimes smashed up my guitar out of frustration at the end of a gig. But I don’t think it was 140. It was 40, max.

Q: How do you let off steam in your private life? Do you drive fast cars?

MATTHEW: Nothing could be further from the truth. A few years ago, my ex [the actress Kate Hudson] even made me go on an aggressive driving course.

Q: Is there really a course for that?

MATTHEW: Not aggressive in the sense of being a danger on the road. They taught me to drive quickly and smoothly. I’m more the type to sit back and relax when I’m behind the wheel. I wasn’t sporty enough for her.

Q: Are you quicker now?

MATTHEW: Not really. One time our drummer and I went head-to-head on a racetrack and at first I thought that I’d done a reasonably good time, but he was five seconds quicker. Maybe drummers just make better racing drivers than guitarists.

Muse’s seventh album, Drones, is out now.

(Interview by Marcel Anders)