Paramotor
Matthew Bellamy bought a paramotor during the Showbiz tour,[1] apparently by impulse purchase and costing £6,000,[2] though he recalled in 2008 that it cost around £10,000.[3] He was inspired to buy it from an opponent flying into a boxing match with Mike Tyson.[3] The paramotor was one of Matthew Bellamy's first high-priced purchases using the band's royalty payments.[4] The engine is apparently 50cc.[3]
Though he claimed to be learning how to use it[5] and that he'd nearly obtained his licence in the former half of 2000[4] in his 2008 recollection he said he had used it only once, but keeps meaning to learn.[3] It seems that he did arrange some lessons,[6] so the time he did fly it was probably one of those.
Before it was apparent Muse were going to have commercial success as a band, Bellamy planned to use the paramotor to fly over sports matches with advertisement banners. He was apparently approached with an offer of £500 for filming aerial shots of a football match, but by that time Muse were doing well enough financially and so he didn't take it up.[7]
Although the device is a powered paraglider, it was dubbed a jet pack. This is a source of confusion, some people are lead to believe it is a jet or rocket propelled backpack.
References
- ↑ Reference needed!
- ↑ ~screenager~. (2005-11-16). [Muse forum post]. Official Muse forum. Retrieved 2008-04-07 from board.muse.mu.
- ↑ a b c d David Roy. (2008-04-04). Live Inspiration. The Irish News. Retrieved 2008-04-06. [verify]
- ↑ a b In a Chickenshit World, A Band You Can Trust (2000-05). Select. [verify]
- ↑ (2000-06). [Interview with Matthew Bellamy]. Juice Magazine. [verify]
- ↑ Ben Mitchell. (2006-09). 'Maybe I'm Borderline Schizophrenic.'. Q, 242, 56–60. Retrieved 2006-08-03. [verify]
- ↑ Colin Murray. (2006-10-05). [Interview]. BBC Radio 1. [verify]