Matt Bellamy

“In the U.S., the conspiracy theory subculture has been hijacked by the Right to try to take down people like Obama and put forward rightwing libertarianism.”

“This inner strength we have, this desire to evolve and expand and explore, I do love that about humanity. At the same time, it's scary what it does on a global scale. I'm very much caught between the two.”

“As a rock band, you're slightly one foot in the past, playing instruments like guitar, bass and drums.”

“I don't totally buy or believe the paradigm that's constantly presented to us and the financial news is obsessed with, which is growth. There seems to be this paradigm which is: There has to be growth. I'm watching it and thinking, am I the only one who recognises this is a small planet isolated in a gigantic universe? Where are we growing to?”

“I've spent important times of my life in Spain and Greece, and various deep things happened there - falling in love, stuff like that.”

“I'm a songwriter; it's in my nature to express things openly.”

“I always go for walks in the countryside.”

“Two hundred years ago, industrialisation ruined the labour force. In the modern age, especially in the West or America, people who are 'efficient,' who can bracket their emotions off, tend to win. But at what cost to the rest of us?”

“As soon as you pick up a guitar, you're up against the legends of rock. The same goes with stadium drum kits and electric bass. Essentially, you're already in a soundscape that's very familiar and has a lot of established legendary material recorded using those instruments.”

“I think that's what a lot of writers do, create a totally fantastical scenario that is a reflection of something else going on in their life.”

“The universe, in a big bang mode, is still expanding, which means it's cooling down, and evolution seems to be going against this; we're almost battling it. That led me on to a more creative, philosophical way of thinking, which is what led into influencing some of the songs, which is, maybe this is what our struggle is.”

“Bands in the Nineties seem to forget the entertainment aspect of rock music.”

“Being from a small town, no one else was going to breathe life into my ideas other than me, so I had to go out there and do it.”

“In the long term, artificial intelligence and automation are going to be taking over so much of what gives humans a feeling of purpose.”

“I experienced the sharp end of a tough time, living with a single parent, my mum, and she was really struggling to get a job. These are the things that form your views in life. They are established when you are growing up and being raised. That stuff doesn't really go away; that stays with you.”

“Opera can be exceptionally moving but can also be pompous.”

“I don't think our records contain obvious humour. We're not cracking gags.”

“I have recurring nightmares about being in a Nazi concentration camp with all my family and constantly being sent to solitary confinement.”

“I can understand why people are bad.”

“I used to do a lot of ouija boards, and I asked if there was life after death. Some spirit replied, 'He who seeketh knowledge seeketh sorrow!'”