From their inception in the small coastal town of Teignmouth, Devon in the mid-1990s Muse have risen to become the UK’s biggest international rock export with a fervent following to match. Band members Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard formed Muse as teenagers a reaction to smalltown boredom. Effectively growing up in public, they released two independent records before signing a series of lucrative worldwide record deals in 1998. Their acclaimed first album Showbiz saw the band build a strong fanbase in the UK, before touring the world with the likes of Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Highlighting their mix of rock influences with the awe-inspiring power and emotive poignancy of classical music, it was a brilliant debut.

Muse’s second album Origin Of Symmetry (2001) saw the band expand this oeuvre, refine their explosive live show, and in hits such as ‘Plug-In Baby’ and ‘New Born’, contribute some genuine modern rock classics which consistently features on lists of great songs of our time. The success of grandiose 2003 album Absolution placed Muse in the big league, aligning them internationally alongside other British legends such as Led Zeppelin, Queens and Pink Floyd and a bigger live draw than contemporaries such as Coldplay (with jaw-dropping, large-scale production to match). Three sold-out shows at Earl’s Court and a headline slot at Glastonbury showed just how far the band had come. The astonishing fourth album, Black Holes & Revelations, was their biggest seller to date, shifting over a million copies within a matter of weeks – and continues to sell.

In August 2006, Muse headlined the Reading festival and in June 2007 – the release month of this updated editon of this best-selling biography ­– will become the first band to play London’s new Wembley stadium. The 180,000 tickets for these two nights sold out within hours. Muse are the biggest British rock band in the world.

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