Matthew James "Matt" Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist and principal songwriter of rock band Muse. He is often recognised for his eccentric stage persona, wide tenor vocal range, and piano and guitar abilities.
Matt Bellamy's father, George Bellamy, was rhythm guitarist in the 1960s pop group The Tornados, who were the first British band to have a United States number one song, with "Telstar". "Knights of Cydonia", a single from Muse's fourth album Black Holes and Revelations, is often cited as a tribute to that song, with its space rock sound and accompanying video depicting a cowboy's quest through an alien landscape. Bellamy's mother, Marilyn, was born in Belfast, and moved to England in the 1970s. On her first day in England she met George, who was at the time working as a taxi driver in London. They later moved to Cambridge, where Matthew's older brother Paul was born, followed a couple of years later by Matthew. In the mid-1980s, the family moved to Teignmouth, Devon. After the divorce of Bellamy's parents, he lived with his mother and brother. Bellamy started playing the piano at the age of 6 and guitar when he was 11. His first musical performance was in June 1991, aged 12, playing piano in front of his school at Teignmouth Community College.