Jimi Hendrix
A journalist once called Matthew Bellamy "Mini Hendrix".[source?]
He used to smash his guitar at the end of gigs as Jimi Hendrix did, but it was more a way to evacuate the frustrations when the concert was not as good as he had hoped[ as opposed to...?].[source?]
Dominic Howard would like to have a drink with Jimi Hendrix, were he still alive—"He was just such a cool guy; the way he played, how he seemed to be in his personal life or whenever he was being interviewed".[source?]
As with Bellamy, Hendrix was a longtime science fiction fan, often singing about space and travelling into it. "Purple Haze" was reportedly inspired by a short story by science fiction writer Philip Jose Farmer; Hendrix's explanation of the song explained his lyrical approach. "It's about going through this land", he said, "I like to [...] write a lot of mythical scenes [...] Like how they got the Greek gods and all that mythology--well you can have your own mythology scene, or write fiction".[source?] Several of Hendrix's more widely known songs—such as "Third Stone from the Sun," "Up from the Skies," "And the Gods Made Love" and "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be)"—fit within this lyrical style.
Back to Influences