George Bellamy (musician)

George Bellamy (born 8 October 1941 in Sunderland, England) is an English musician and former rhythm guitarist for The Tornados.^[1] He is the father of Matthew Bellamy, frontman of British rock band Muse.

History

Bellamy is primarily a rock 'n' roll and country-and-western singer. In the late 1950s, he played in a band and later a duo with Alan Klein. Bellamy decided to audition for a group formed by Joe Meek that was advertised in the music press. It was this audition that determined that Bellamy would play rhythm guitar for the Tornados, who were firstly a session band for Meek. However, the group reached new heights with their song "Telstar", which reached number one all over the world and was the first British rock song to be a number-one single in the United States. Bellamy wrote one of The Tornados' tracks, "Ridin' the Wind", which also was a hit single in the USA.

Bellamy left the Tornados in 1963 when it became necessary to cease touring because of problems with his lower spine. After medical treatment, he worked with Don Charles, who had set up his own recording company with Alan Caddy named "Sound Venture". Bellamy continued doing session work in London until 1972, working with arrangers and producers such as Burt Bacharach, George Martin, and Ivor Raymond. Bellamy re-recorded "Telstar" with his own record company "SRT" in 1975 with members of the original Tornados.

In late 1997 he formed a Devon-based band, called Rough Terrain, who played at local events in the UK. The members were:

• Richard Harris – Lead Guitar
• George Bellamy – Rhythm Guitar/Vocals
• Jodie West – Vocals
• Michael Green – Bass Guitar
• Vic Johns – Drums

Bellamy began working in the building industry of Devon in 1984. He retired to Costa Blanca, south of Alicante, Spain, in 2004 and formed the rock band Freeway.

The 2009 feature film Telstar portrays the young Bellamy, played by actor Alan Scally. Bellamy is the father of Matthew Bellamy, lead singer of the band Muse.

References