Ongoing History Daily: Matt Bellamy’s musical heritage

Matt Bellamy, the leader of Muse, inherited at least some of his need to make music from his father.  George Bellamy was something of a rock’n’roller himself way back in the day. 

He was the guitarist in an English pop group called the Tornados.  They were a space-rock sort of group produced by the legendary whacko Joe Meeks who became the first-ever British band to have a number one hit in the United States with an instrumental entitled “Telstar,” which celebrated the launch of the first-ever commercial communications satellite. That was 1962. 

Matt pays tribute to his dad’s accomplishment with the song “Knights of Cydonia,” which tries to recreate that space-rock feel of “Telstar.”  And mix with weird western music and Queen-like vocals, of course.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

One thought on “Ongoing History Daily: Matt Bellamy’s musical heritage

  • April 1, 2023 at 11:01 am
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    I remember hearing that song on 1050 CHUM when they were an oldies station on the 90’s. When I first heard Knights of Cydonia I knew something sounded familiar but could not put my finger on it until I heard the story of Matt Bellamys father and Telstar. What a crazy video for KOC!! I miss the days of music videos on after school on “Toronto Rocks” etc….

    Reply

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