BACK TO THE FUTURE

Muse frontman Matt Bellamy on Tom Morello’s unending inspiration, buying Jeff Buckley’s Telecaster, and how Manson guitars will be at the forefront of the instrument’s evolution...

- Amit Sharma

2020 may be a “year off” for Muse, but life in quarantine could hardly be considered a vacation for Matt Bellamy, one of the 21st century’s bona fide guitar heroes. The frontman’s home studio has been busier than ever, hosting recording sessions for his debut solo outing – symphonic piano overture Tomorrow’s World – as well as tracking and production work for The Jaded Hearts Club, his Beatles-themed supergroup with Blur’s Graham Coxon and The Last Shadow Puppets’ Miles Kane.

Don’t worry, though: Bellamy will be back to arena-demolishing duties as soon as it’s safe to do so. “We’re going to get musical and get back in the studio probably next year for another album,” Bellamy reveals. “And we were hoping to do a tour, if the world comes back to any normality – probably in 2021 or 2022.” And when he does get back on stage, you can be sure of one thing: there will be a Manson custom guitar slung around his shoulder.

All guitarists love the gear they play, but it takes an extra-special connection with your choice of guitar to become heavily invested in the company that makes them. That’s exactly what Matt did when he had a ‘Remington moment’ in 2019, becoming the majority shareholder in Manson Guitar Works – the brand that evolved from famed UK luthier Hugh Manson’s custom-built models into an internationally recognised innovator of guitar design. Of course, it’s fair to say that Bellamy’s association with the company has had a big part to play in spreading the Manson name across the globe, and his latest Meta Series MBM-1 model with Mansons Guitar Works and Cort is scheduled to be released soon.