Muse star Matt Bellamy on putting family first
Star Pair ... Matt Bellamy with his partner Kate Hudson
Rex Features
BACK in the heyday of touring rock’n’roll juggernauts, two stadium dates in London would have put drug dealers and pimps on red alert for a bumper weekend of business.
But in 2013, as Muse roll into town for two huge stadium shows at The Emirates, only the juicing machine in the dressing room will be anxious about the damage to its internal organs.Frontman Matt Bellamy, bass player Chris Wolstenholme, both 34, and drummer Dom Howard, 35, will celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band next year.
But the days of bad behaviour and wild antics are behind them, with a far more sensible and professional attitude to life on the road.
Matt, who has a 22-month-old son, Bingham, with Hollywood star Kate Hudson, admits family life has given all three members a reason to keep things on the straight and narrow.
Walk of fame ... the couple stroll with their son Bingham
Xposurephotos.com
He said: “You have to put others before you — especially when you have kids.
“You focus on the needs of a child being in front of your own, and that’s an amazing experience.
“When you’re flitting about all over the world you can get caught up a bit in your own needs and wants.
“But as soon as there is someone else there, it puts it in perspective. It’s a really healthy thing. Family life is all about love.”
The musician, who is widely regarded as the best guitarist of his generation, grew up in Devon.
His dad, George, was in 1960s group The Tornados, who had a hit with Telstar.
Guitar hero ... Matt Bellamy performs at the SECC Glasgow
And the experience of his parents’ divorce in the 1990s has given him more motivation to provide his family with a settled and secure home life.
The band are back on home soil after a string of huge dates across the Atlantic.
They have deliberately spaced out the tour so they and the crew could have as much time at home with their families as possible.
Matt said: “I think I am very lucky because my partner, my girlfriend. She loves travelling.
“She was raised in a family where there was a lot of travelling and upheaval going on all the time.
“She is really open to us being on the road and because of that we haven’t really been apart for anything more than a week since our baby was born.
“A lot of the time, if she is working, I will go to where she is — and it works both ways. She comes to see us all the time.
“You balance a little bit, especially with two working people.
Muse ... Matt with fellow band members Dom Howard and, right, Chris Wolstenholme
“You have to take it in turns to do certain things.”
Arsenal’s ground The Emirates is fast becoming a rival to Wembley Stadium, where Muse have played twice, for huge outdoor gigs.
Last summer Coldplay sold out a series of shows at The Emirates, with Muse taking the baton on this weekend. Matt said: “These gigs have been so exciting for us. We love playing all over the place.
“Our favourite show so far was probably Las Vegas, which maybe says something about the show that we’ve got with all the lights.
“It just seems to work there with all the electrics. Then we went off to Uncasville in Connecticut, a place I never knew existed, and the crowd was incredible.
“It is great to be back on home soil though. Coventry — our first gig outdoors this week — was special.”
I have a running joke with Muse bass player Chris about the band making a loss on every gig because the electricity bill for the lighting show is so extravagant.
But Matt said it was under control: “Everyone thinks the electricity bill for these shows must be huge. But we’ve got low-energy LED stuff — so it’s not as bad as you might think.
“It might be an idea to get the roadies on spin bikes under the stage to run a few dynamos to charge it all up. Then again, they would be there all day and all night.”
The band have become multimillionaires over the years thanks to two No1 albums — Black Holes And Revelations and The Resistance — and a series of top ten singles.
They have also become a revered live act, winning a Brit Award in the Best Live category, a Best Rock Album Grammy and an American Music Award for The Resistance.
Since 1994 the band have released six studio albums — flogging more than 15million worldwide.
Their latest album, The 2nd Law, and the single Madness, received Grammy nominations this year. Matt might be in a long-term relationship with a combined wealth of millions but he insists his feet are still firmly planted on the ground.
He said: “Money and success havn’t really changed my beliefs or opinions over the years.
“When I was growing up my mum and dad split when I was 13 or 14 during the early-Nineties recession.
Rock solid ... Matt in action with Muse on stage in Toronto
Corbis
“At that time my dad went bankrupt and it played a huge part in it all at home.
“So I experienced the sharp end of a tough time, living with a single parent, my mum, and she was really struggling to get a job. These are the things that form your views in life.
“They are established when you are growing up and being raised.
“That stuff doesn’t really go away, that stays with you.
“In a way, that is what drove me to want to be successful. I never want to have to be in that situation again — ever.
“I have been lucky to experience a lot of the spoils that can happen in a rock band.
“But being with the three guys in this band from such a young age, we aren’t going to let any of the spoils change us.”
Over the last few months Muse gigs have clashed with terrifying acts of terrorism.
The band played two nights at Madison Square Garden in New York, with their first on the same day as the Boston bombings.
Pals ... Matt and bandmate Dom with Sun's Gordon Smart
Dave Hogan
Matt took to the stage and played a Jimi Hendrix-style guitar solo of Star-Spangled Banner — bringing the house down. This weekend, they play two nights at The Emirates following the brutal murder of solder Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south east London.
Matt said: “It was crazy in New York on the day of the Boston bombings. We were playing Madison Square Garden that night — and the atmosphere in the city was noticably different from normal.
“It is difficult to choose the right words on stage on a day like that. You don’t want to get into making a political speech, even though you feel strongly about what is happening.
“It’s really sad but we have to find that element of balance because we are there to entertain and put a smile on our fans’ faces.
“It brings back everything that happened in New York in 2001. It added a bit of a sombre tone to the gig but the spirit in the city shone through and everyone enjoyed the night in the end.
“We will do the same when we take to the stage this weekend.”
The show must go on — and Muse have some special gigs coming up.
They will perform at a show for the premiere of Hollywood film World War Z next Sunday at Horse Guards Parade in London.
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