They have a combined sales record of over 200 million records and have played to over 25 million people worldwide, not bad going. To inspire you to become the next Dominic Howard (Muse) here is a short bio of the musicians and drummers that have made it big having started in Exeter. Enjoy!
Dominic Howard (Muse) was born in Stockport before moving down to Teignmouth, a small town is a short way out of Exeter when he was 8. At school, he made friends with a certain Matt Bellamy who convinced him to join his band, then known as Gothic Plague, later Rocket Baby Dolls and then finally Muse. Bellamy had taken a year out after school to work on his vocals and guitar playing, which he continued to do so in the lower register before in one infamous gig he realised that the crowd could not hear him resulting in him singing in falsetto helping them to develop that famous Muse sound. Howard uses DW Drums tailored to him due to his left-handed style. He also uses a selection of Zildjian cymbals as well as his own signature series drumstick with Pro-Mark. His complex beats heard in songs like Hysteria should be the aim of any rock drummer to master - true drumming great.
Other famous musicians from Exeter include Chris Martin lead singer of Coldplay. Born in Whitestone, Exeter he attended the Cathedral School in Exeter before moving to Dorset to board full time. It was at the University College, London that Martin met Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman with the four of them going on to form Coldplay after graduation. After the release of Parachutes, in 2000 to international recognition and critical acclaim the band rose during the 2000s to become one of the most successful British bands for all time - selling over 60 million records & packing out global stadium tours. With five number one UK albums as well as three in the US, Coldplay remains one of the biggest international acts in the world. They are fantastic live with Will Champion being a quality drummer.
Thom Yorke (Radiohead) attended the University of Exeter in the late 80s, regularly DJing at the Lemon Grove and playing in his makeshift band Headless Chickens. After his degree, he returned to Oxford to continue playing and writing music for his first band On A Friday who later changed their name to the now infamous band Radiohead. The slow success of their song Creep gathered them a huge fanbase that gradually propelled them to the top of rock fame during the mid-90s. With five number one albums between 1997 and 2007 Radiohead are now seen as one of the most influential rock bands of all time, with Thom Yorke's unusual writing style and quirky guitar riffs being hailed as a true rock genius.
Will Young is another famous University of Exeter alumni having attended read Politics and graduated with a 2:2 honours degree. Upon graduation, he moved to attend Arts Educational Schools in London and during his first year auditioned for a talent show named Pop Idol. Amazingly Will Young managed to win the competition beating Gareth Gates in the final, with his first album, From Now On, going straight to number one in 2002 Will Young quickly established himself as one of the UK's leading pop acts. His second album in 2003, Friday's Child, also reached number one in the UK album charts helping him to amass a fortune over £13.5 million pounds. His next three albums all charted extremely well, two number two's and another number one giving his total album sales to date well over 8 million records - no bad for having entered a talent show on a whim.
