ShockHound

   This UK rock trio, not to be confused with the Florida-based US band
    of the same name, grew up in the sleepy small-town backwater of
    Teignmouth, Devon. School friends Matthew Bellamy (b. 9 June 1978,
    Cambridge, England; guitar/vocals, the son of George Bellamy of the
    Tornados), Chris Wolstenhome (b. Christopher Tony Wolstenholme, 2
    December 1978, Rotherham, Yorkshire, England; bass) and Dominic
    Howard (b. 12 July 1977, Stockport, England; drums) first formed a
    band as teenagers, struggling on the local pub circuit as Gothic
    Plague, Fixed Penalty and Rocket Baby Dolls. They eventually settled
    on Muse, a name far more in sync with a rapidly developing style
    clearly influenced by Radiohead, Nirvana and the late Jeff Buckley
    (notably Bellamy's vocals). A well-received appearance at 1998's In
    The City showcase failed to land the trio a recording contract. Two
    independent releases on Dangerous Records, the four-track Muse (May
    1998) and six-track Muscle Museum (January 1999), garnered strong
    praise for the band's grandiose art-rock. In the meantime, an
    appearance at CMJ in New York led to a high profile recording
    contract with Madonna's Maverick Records. Shortly afterwards, the
    band were snapped up by Mushroom Records in the UK. A strong set at
    1999's Glastonbury Festival failed to push their debut single 'Uno'
    higher than number 73 in the UK charts, but the band were consoled
    by positive reviews for their John Leckie-produced debut, Showbiz.
    The explosive atmosphere of tracks such as 'Sunburn', 'Cave' and
    'Sober' stood out on a record that failed to rise above the sum of
    its influences.

    The follow-up, 2001's Origin Of Symmetry, was an equally bombastic
    but far superior collection that helped propel the band to new
    commercial and critical heights. The album reached the UK Top 5 but
    was denied an initial US release when the band refused to re-record
    some of the tracks at the request of their record company. Following
    the release of a third album, Absolution, the trio began to make
    inroads into the American market. The album included 'Stockholm
    Syndrome', which had previously been made available as a download
    single. The trio then excelled themselves on 2006's Black Holes &
    Revelations, a superbly executed concept album complete with
    suitably 70s styled art work courtesy of Storm Thorgerson.

    DISCOGRAPHY: Showbiz (Maverick 1999), Random 1-8 (Avex Trax 2000),
    Plug in Baby (Avex Trax 2001), Origin of Symmetry (Warner Music
    Benelux 2001), Hyper Music (Captain Trip Records 2001), Hyper
    Music-Live (Cutting Edge 2001), Hullabaloo Soundtrack (Avex Trax
    2002), Hullabaloo Soundtrack (Mushroom Records 2002), Hullabaloo
    Live at The (Mushroom Records 2002), Deadstar/in Your World EP
    (Cutting Edge 2003), Time Is Running Out (Avex 2003), Maximum Muse
    (Chrome Dreams Records 2004), Absolution (Warner Bros. Records
    2004), Sing For Absolution (Taste Media 2004), Butterflies &
    Hurricanes (Taste Media 2004), Hullabaloo Soundtrack (Taste Media
    2006), Supermassive Black Hole (Warner Elektra Atlantic Corp. 2006),
    Supermassive Black Hole (Warner Brothers Records 2006), Black Holes
    and Revelations (Warner Bros. Records 2006), Starlight (Warner
    Elektra Atlantic Corp. 2006), Starlight (MSI Music 2006), Knights of
    Cydonia (Warner Elektra Atlantic Corp. 2006), Knights of Cydonia
    (Warner Elektra Atlantic Corp. 2006), H.A.A.R.P. Live From Wembly
    (Warner Bros. Records 2008), The Resistance (Warner Bros. Records
    2009).



    VIDEOGRAPHY: Hullabaloo: Live At Le Zenith, Paris (Mushroom 2002),
    Absolution Tour (Mushroom 2005), H.A.A.R.P. (Warners 2008).



    BIBLIOGRAPHY: Muse: Inside The Muscle Museum, Ben Myers.

    Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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