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Muse
Muse started out as a band under a number of names including Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty, and Rocket Baby Dolls. After winning a battle of the bands type competition, it changed its name to Muse and started playing gigs in London and Manchester.
In 1998, Muse signed a deal with America’s Maverick Records. This opened the doors to other deals in Europe and Australia but in the age of indie music, Muse was keen to maintain creative control.
To support the release of its first album, Showbiz, the band toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and the festival circuit in Europe.
By now, Muse gained a reputation for its energetic live performances and fusion of progressive and alternative rock. Matthew Bellamy’s style has also become a trademark for the band as he uses falsetto vocals and pitch-shift guitar effects. NME Magazine described Muse’s style as “every guitar here sounds like it’s from the future, every flourish and movement scored and orchestrated with celestial vision.”
Its second album Origin of Symmetrywas well-received by critics but Maverick Records wanted to make some changes with the songs due to their reservations over lead singer, Bellamy’s vocal style. The band refused and jumped ship to the loving arms of Warner. By 2006, the album was rated in Q Magazine’s fan poll of the 100 greatest albums ever.
Stockholm Syndrome was released as a download only single to give fans a taste of what was to come on the next album. It proved to be one of the most popular download singles ever. Absolution, Muse’s third album, debuted at #1 in the UK charts and yielded a top ten hit Time is Running Out.
In 2004, the band started picking up awards for “Best Alternative Act” and “Best Live Act” and headlined the Glastonbury Festival. In 2006, Muse released its fourth album entitled Black Holes and Revelations. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize but narrowly missed out to the Arctic Monkeys. The most notable single from the album was Supermassive Black Hole which ended up being featured on the video game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
By 2008, Muse was the headline act for the V Festival and members Bellamy, Dominic Howard (drums) and Christopher Wolstenholme (bass) received Honorary Doctorates of Arts from the University of Plymouth.
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Muse released Resistance in 2009. It was the first album that proudly claimed a self-production. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries and reached #3 in the US.
The song United States of Eurasia from its 2009 release was available for download but only after it was unlocked in a clever worldwide treasure hunt, consisting of USB keys with song data hidden in seven major cities.
Now a regular headliner for festivals and an arena sell-out, Muse successfully capitalised on the indie movement by not backing down to record label management whims and integrating new technology in not only its musical style but also in its promotion.
Juanita Appleby
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Radiohead
The English band, Radiohead, was founded in 1985 in Oxfordshire, England. The 5 band members all met whilst attending Abingdon School. At the time the band was called On A Friday as they used to meet on a Friday to rehearse. The line up consists of Thom Yorke (rhythm guitar, beats, piano and lead vocals), Ed O’Brien (backing vocals and guitar), Jonny Greenwood (keyboard, lead guitar and other instruments), Phil Selway (percussion and drums) and Colin Greenwood (synthesizers and bass guitar).
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Radiohead’s debut single was the song 'Creep' in 1992, which initially failed to impress but became a huge hit with the release of their debut album, 'Pablo Honey' in 1993. The release of their second album 'The Bends' in 1995 boosted their popularity in the UK. 1997 saw the release of third album, 'OK Computer', which propelled them to greater international fame and is now considered a landmark record of the 1990s. Their next 2 albums, 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac' saw the group incorporate electronic music, Krautrock, post-punk and jazz influences. In 2003 the band released, “Hail to the Thief”, their last album through record label, EMI. 'In Rainbows', their seventh album was released independently and each customer could set their own price. It was a critical and chart success.
Radiohead have been nominated for numerous music awards including 8 BRIT award nominations (which they have never won), 14 Grammy award nominations (including 3 wins), 10 MTV awards nominations (of which they won 9), 3 Q Awards and an Ivor Novello award. The band are still active today.
WE'VE A GREAT RARE TRACK OF THE BAND WHEN THEY PERFORMED AS ON A FRIDAY, CHECK IT OUT IN OUR RARE RECORD CLUB SECTION HERES THE LINK
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
