When life was loud

Torbay Express and South Devon Echo Wednesday, 15th September 1999 They began in Teignmouth - but rock stardom beckons  Special report by JOHN WARE IT'S A long, rocky road to pop stardom, but Teignmouth rockers Muse are gradually pushing their way into the big time.   A great deal was expected from the trio when they caught the ear and eye of Madonna, who snapped them up for her Maverick label in a million-dollar deal earlier in the year.   But their management never expected, or wanted, them to be an overnight an sensation.   They have seen so many other Brit pop groups suddenly shoot into prominence, and then fade away into virtual obscurity.   The game plan is to patiently groom Muse into top performers so they will have a long shelf life.   But crunch time is now approaching.    Their new single, Cave, is on release and on October 4 the first album, Showbiz, will be in the shops.   The success of the CDS is not exactly make or break, but ...

Torbay Express and South Devon Echo Thursday 18th February 1999 THIS time next year they could just have the world at their feet.    As the British music industry saluted its top performers at the Brit Awards, rising stars Muse were being tipped as the next big thing.   Today reporter JOHN WARE profiles the £1 million Teignmouth rockers, meets their families, and finds out why the business believes they have got what it takes.  IF South Devon rockers Muse become a world supergroup as predicted, it will hardly be an overnight success.    They have struggled for four years playing in small pubs, clubs and halls without much acclaim.   Today they received the accolade of a feature in the New Musical Express - the bible of rock fans.    The NME describes them as: "Three Disney-sweet doe-eyed Devon kids and their school band - devoted young pups determined not to lose their grip on their schoolboy dreams of rock Valhalla."   They were bright ...

c.2009 This video is billed as "Episode 1", but I have never been able to find, or even confirm that there any other episodes. I get the feeling that these may have been the genesis for the 'Mad Manager' videos.  An opening crawl appears, Star Wars style.  "Holed up in a hotel room, thousands of miles from home with only sock puppets and a cellphone for company, it was only a matter of time before the devil himself found a use for their hands.  Snatching two work slaves from the twilit streets of Holland and plunging them into a world of mischief and debauchery, our two heroes set to work on a cunning plan. This is how time is passed on the dark side.  This is how to fuck with your manager..." (DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD begins to play) as the title screen flashes up, 'In a country, far, far away...Drunk and bored as shit...' WEDNESDAY: This is called fuckin' with management, part one. JOEY is on the phone to CORY (the long suffering man from 'The Mad...

This advert appeared in Revolver Magazine in October 2008.  The blurb at the bottom of the page reads;  "ROADWORTHY Anyone who has been to a Slipknot show will tell you it's all out WAR. Mick Thomson (aka "Seven") is at the frontline, armed with his custom Ovation MT37 that holds up night after night to his aggressive performances and chaos. Built to Mick's exact specs, the deep contour bowl and Mick's custom ultra thin neck make the MT37 the loudest and fastest shredder in our arsenal. Check one out and see why Ovation is Mick's #1 acoustic of choice." Mick gave a somewhat grumpy answer when asked "Some people were surprised when you launched a signature Ovation acoustic..."

Portsmouth Evening News Friday, 12th December 2003 Muse Brighton Centre 'It's time for something biblical...' roared Muse singer Matt Bellamy and this was indeed a gig played with almost religious fervour.   Too often we put up with the bland and the ordinary at gigs, content just to be in the same room as our heroes run through their latest album - with Muse you get a return to showmanship.   The songs are grandiose epics building from neo-classical piano to gut-wrenching guitar riffs, and the spectacle of this trio in action lives up to the music.   Blinding lights glared in time to the mammoth drumbeats, hordes of balloons fell from the ceiling, and more giant inflatables filled with tickertape descended for the finale.   But Muse don't rely on stunts, their material has built strongly over the years and the songs from new album, Absolution, are pomp-metal masterpieces from Time Is Running Out to Hysteria and beyond.   That's not to say earlier numbers such ...

Aberdeen Evening Express Thursday 12th October 2000 FLEX yer biceps, and if you've recently been dumped and don't wanna be bathing in woe, run away now. Muse try to shun away from the Radiohead comparisons but there's no getting away from the fact that this is a full-blown mopey slice of rawk, just like the 'Head'/ Mind you, with them ol' hands no longer sounding like themselves, thankfully Muse are around. Swaying its shoulders and swaggering like a Gallagher through rifts, there's a lot on show in this Muscle Museum.  Fed up of flowery pop?  Grab hold of a Muse record and we guarantee you'll be erm, amused.

Metal Hammer July 2009 Slipknot are a different band from the 18-legged hate machine that unleashed their brutal debut album a decade ago. They're still full of hate, but 10 years older and 10 years more successful, it's for different reasons... Down an endless corridor painted the uniform colour of schools and hospitals worldwide that can probably only be achieved by mixing pigeon shit with dandruff. Security check. Turn left along another equally unattractive corridor...no wait. Turn right. Go back and ask the humourless security bloke who's already forgotten your encounter of 10 seconds ago and wants to see passes again. Left it is. Past a million uninviting little rooms marked 'production', 'catering' etc. Another security check. Another corridor. Repeat until mildly irritated. Try not to think about Spinal Tap.    Aside from being owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church - an irony that's missed by no one - The Forum in Los Angeles is no different...

Yorkshire Evening Post Saturday 20 September 2003 ABSOLUTION MUSE  FIVE STARS A lot of people can't be doing with Muse singer Matt Bellamy's hand-wringing caterwauling. Nor do they have time for the classical values of the band's dramatic rock, with its descending chord patterns, overblown synthesizer arpeggios and pompous grand pianos and choirs. Ah well, it's their loss.  Absolution is Muse's third studio LP, and it's another hearty step up Rock Legend Mountain. They haven't taken their eye off the ball - if anything they're staring more unnervingly hard and maniacally at it than ever. Sure, the themes are as downbeat as ever (oh my god, it's the end of the world!) but in Muse's hands the while thing is marvellously cathartic.  They make a glorious sound - when they're loud its a delicious, invigorating, heartily satisfying racket, and when they're quiet (the album has more slower movement than previous ones) it's with a hypnotic sn...

Yorkshire Evening Post Saturday, 29th June 2002  'It would be a crying shame if it wasn't allowed to go ahead,' says Chris Wolstenholme of rock band Muse on the prospects for this year's Leeds Festival. 'Every time we have played there we have had a good time.' The threat to the three-day event this summer comes after council chiefs refused to grant organisers an entertainment licence. The decision has added significance for fans of Muse. It is the only opportunity they will have to see their heroes in live action in the UK this year.  'We don't have any new material coming out so we thought we would keep a relatively low profile and stick to one festival appearance,' says the Yorkshire-born bass player. 'We have been really looking forward to it because we have a high slot this year so we can take in a lot of production' The band have reached the dizzy heights of being second headline act on the main stage on Sunday, August 25 - that's i...

This advert appeared in 'Modern Drummer' in January 2010. The manufacturer was Pearl, whom Joey used for his military like assault course drum kit set up (a German drumming magazine reported that he put sandpaper on his notoriously stiff pedals to maintain grip). 'To cut through a band as heavy as Slipknot, you've got to have one special snare. Joey Jordison's weapon of choice is designed for quick response and bite with heavy body and depth. The result is a rare kind of power you'd expect from this rare talent.' ~ 6.5.13" Steel shell in Limited Edition blood red metallic to black fade finish. ~ SR-017 strainer with vertical-pull throw-off. ~ Black Super Hoops and Masters double-ended lugs.

Western Evening Herald  Tuesday, 26th May 1998  MUSE take centre stage at Plymouth's Cooperage on Thursday as their first EP goes on sale in the city.    It was recorded at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, where owner Dennis Smith said he was much impressed by them.    The Muse EP - containing tracks Overdue, Cave, Coma and Escape - is a limited edition of just 999.   It is available by mail order from Muse, PO Box 45, Teignmouth, TQ14 9YW, and in selected record shops around the country. In Plymouth the stockists are Different Class in Frankfort Gate.   The Teignmouth-based indie band has been earning rave reviews from those in the know in the music biz.    Fans include impresario, talent spotter and former Radio 1 DJ Jonathan King. He praised the band and included them in the monthly Tip Sheet, a well respected music business publication.    They have been receiving regular airplay on London's XFM, and other stations are showing...

Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer  Friday 3rd September 2004 ( Rough Trade ) To look at the lank-mopped amphetamine-honed pallour that glowers from the sleeve of this follow-up, or to read any of the fawning music press praise for this 'British Strokes', you might think that London quartet The Libertines had bottled rock'n'roll's greasy essence on their second album. The departure of guitarist Pete Doherty to tackle his drug addiction only adds to the impression, but without the backdrop of punch-ups and on-stage shambles (thankfully absent from their disciplined Leeds Festival performance last week), their recorded music has developed into an uncontroversial and surprisingly palatable take on British new wave pop, owing as much to The Smiths or XTC as it does to their ramshackle debut. Doherty and remaining vocalist Carl Barat tackle their problems head on in the anthemic, harmonica-rasping album opener Can't Stand Me Now but other tracks, predictably the...

Sunday Tribune Sunday 26th August 2001  Muse have genuinely become a high profile rock band. But they don't know it. Oh, and they're broke too, moans frontman Matt Bellamy.  THERE'S a man that thinks that Muse is the worthy successor of Bach. His name is Richard, he's 62, he comes to the band's gigs, but hasn't heard another pop or rock record in years. His house is a classical music library, and he lends the singer piano music to brush up his skills. The members of Muse seem flattered at their place in history: it fits in with everything else about the band that screams: our music is IMPORTANT.  But even though the single is shooting up the charts, the slick videos are constantly on MTV, and the music is the tortured and ornate seriousness of Mature Artists, at heart Muse is still just a struggling school-boy band - loud, confused and broke.    "The weirdest thing about all this? Honestly? Lack of cash," scowls singer and songwriter Matt Bellamy, shiv...

Portsmouth Evening News Friday, 22nd February 2002 American Head Charge cause a reaction wherever they go.  It could be their music - their album The War of Art was the heaviest thing of 2001 by a mile - but it's more likely to be the way they look.   There are seven of them. One is bald and usually sports blue eyeshadow and lipstick, one has a spiders web on his face, one has a mohawk haircut, one has a shaven head except for some green dreads at the front, one is shaved on one side only and another has a blood red crop.   They are not your average bunch of grungers.   The group formed after vocalist Martin Cock and bass/guitar/programmer Chad Hanks met in a rehab centre in Minneapolis.   There was a shifting line-up until they settled on the current members and support slots with the likes of Type O Negative, Slipknot, Powerman 5000 and System of a Down saw them signed to American Recordings by legendary producer Rick Rubin.   American Head Charge's debut...

Portsmouth Evening News Saturday, 7th September 2002 Murderdolls - Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls (Roadrunner)  Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison takes off his mask, swops his sticks for a guitar and joins Trippeisen from Static X in this new glam metal project. Loads more Marilyn Manson-esque make-up, sleazy tunes and tales of violent destruction than the Knot - and better for it.

Western Evening Herald Friday, 14th August 1998 IF there is any justice at all in the unpredictable music world then Devon-based three-piece, Muse, are surely destined for international stardom.   The incredible chemistry generated by Dominic's powerhouse drumming, Chris's punching bass and Matthew's innovative virtuoso guitarwork coupled with his soaring falsetto vocals makes them one of the most exciting and sophisticated bands around anywhere - and they are still only teenagers!   Their rather disturbing yet seductive sound defies categorisation, though Matthew has been likened to Thom Yorke, because of his stunning vocal delivery and ability to chew up your insides as you empathise with the tortured beauty of his songs. As Darren Johns of NME so succinctly put it: "Muse...emotionally overwhelm us with brutal yet beatific melodies, plucked simultaneously out of Satan and God's breast pockets..."   One of their foremost fans is Dennis Smith, owner of the pre...

Aberdeen Herald & Post Wednesday 9th February 2000 LOADED  Friday 18, Glow 303 10.30pm - 2am  £6 Indie Raga-Muffins Muse blaze to town. Support from Soulwax as well as the usual Loaded DJs. Tickets available from One-Up.

September 2009 RINGMASTER: Roll up! Roll up! Welcome to Seaside Rendezvous!  (This is cut with footage of Muse live, crowds etc) Muse.  3 Lads From Devon.  Over 10 Million Records Sold.  Global Rock Gods. Now What?  Footage of Muse live, music, crowds, people buying tickets stop and we cut to a beach scene with gulls singing, before cutting away to newspaper articles and the like.   V/O: Muse confirm two homecoming shows in Teignmouth, Devon on the 4th & 5th September PRESENTER: 2,000 rock fans queued overnight in Teignmouth to get tickets to see local supergroup, Muse.  MATTHEW: Some new songs, a couple of lasers  MAN: I'm in Teignmouth! MATTHEW (interview footage): It'll be about ten years since the first album came out, and there's going be something really quite poignant about that, about playing at our hometown, and then going away again... MATTHEW (footage on stage): Great to be back  FAN: Definitely one of those gigs for the histor...