Muse
Muse members
Matthew Bellamy (vocals, guitar, keyboard, piano, keytar, lyrics)
Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, backing vocals, keyboard, guitar)
Dominic Howard (drums, percussion, human bones, synthesiser)
Live performance only members
Formation
- For a full biography see Biography
The members of Muse played in separate bands during their stay at Teignmouth Community College and Coombeshead College in the early 1990s. The formation of Muse began when Bellamy successfully auditioned for the part of guitarist in Dominic Howard's band. They asked Chris Wolstenholme, who played drums at the time, to learn to play bass guitar for the band. Wolstenholme agreed and the band was formed.
In 1994, under the name Rocket Baby Dolls and with a goth/glam image, the group won a local battle of the bands contest, smashing their equipment in the process. "It was supposed to be a protest, a statement", Bellamy said, "so, when we actually won, it was a real shock. A massive shock. After that, we started taking ourselves seriously". Shortly after the contest, the three decided to forego university, quit their jobs, change the band name to Muse, and move away from Teignmouth.
The band name
The band have stated that they chose the name Muse due to it being short as well as looking good on gig posters. They got the name after someone suggested that the reason that a lot of bands were forming around Teignmouth was due to a muse hanging around the town.[1]
The word 'muse' is defined in the dictionary as:
- A force or person, esp. a woman, that inspires a creative artist
- To be absorbed in one's thoughts, To engage in meditation or To consider or say thoughtfully
- Any of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne in Greek mythology.
In Greek mythology each Muse presides over a different art or science. Bellamy's favourite is Erato,[2] the Muse of lyrical and erotic poetry.
In Japanese, the name is transliterated in the Katakana syllabary as 'ミューヅ' (Myuuzu, literally).
The trademark
The band name was trademarked by Matthew Bellamy and his solicitors on 21st July 1999. The trademark covers three different classes:
- Class 09:
Magnetic tapes, compact discs, recording discs, mini discs, cassettes, records, video discs and video tapes, sound recordings, video recordings, CD-ROM discs, DVDs, all featuring music by, musical and/or visual performances by and/or information relating to recording and performing artists.
- Class 25:
Clothing, footwear and headgear.
- Class 41:
Production of shows and presentations and live performances relating to recording and performing artists; recording services provided by recording and performing artists; theatrical productions and audio programming for recording and performing artists; stage, screen, television, concert and nightclub entertainment services relating to recording and performing artists.
Previous names
Muse management
- Anthony Addis
- Thomas Kirk
- Sam Sparrow (marketing and promotion)
- Alex Wall
Museboard management
See also
References
- ↑ ninemsn 200702
- ↑ Robin Bresnark. (1999-12). The Potholey Bible. Melody Maker. Retrieved from Crikey. Need a domain here, kthnxbye. [verify]