Herald Express 2007-02-26 – Before they hit fame and fortune
BEFORE THEY HIT FAME AND FORTUNE
11:00 - 26 February 2007
Twelve years ago, just a few months after moving into Bridge View in the heart of town, a young man knocked at my front door and asked me to take a few photos of three lads to include in my Teignmouth Talk page.
They had formed a pop band and, as their manager, he saw enormous potential. We met up on the seafront and I took a trio of pictures of the boys who were calling themselves Muse.The same threesome walked away with top prize and international recognition at the world famous Brit Awards staged a couple of weeks ago. Dominic Howard, Chris Wolstenhome and Matthew Bellamy, left to right in the photograph, have successfully carried the name of Teignmouth to many different countries during their rise to fame.
Five years into their career, Muse won a million dollar deal and hit local headlines by saying that Teignmouth was full of drug-takers and music had been their salvation.
The glamour attached to fame is far outweighed by the intrusion of privacy that all stars have to accept. The last time the boys returned home together had to be kept secret as they were visiting the Performing Arts Centre at Teignmouth Community College.
Their success is an inspiration to other young people to turn to music for satisfaction and opportunity.