Busted are an English pop-punk band from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, consisting of James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson. Formed in 2000, the band has had four UK number-one singles, won two Brit Awards, released four studio albums and sold over 5 million records worldwide. The band released the albums Busted in 2002 and A Present for Everyone in 2003 before disbanding in January 2005.
Following the split, all three members pursued separate musical careers: Simpson as the frontman for the post-hardcore band Fightstar, Bourne as the lead singer of pop-punk band Son of Dork and Willis as a solo artist. The band reunited in 2015, embarking on the Pigs Can Fly arena tour in May 2016 and releasing their third studio album, Night Driver, on 25 November 2016. On 26 October 2018, Busted announced their fourth album, Half Way There, released on 1 February 2019, as well as a UK arena tour. At the end of 2019, the band embarked on a hiatus to pursue solo projects. In 2023, Busted announced their return for their 20th anniversary, consisting of a greatest hits album, Greatest Hits 2.0, and arena tour.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Busted has been certified for sales of 2.4 million albums and 3.4 million singles in the UK.
History 2000–2002: Formation, Busted and rise to fame James Bourne and Matt Willis originally auditioned for other bands which neither of them made it into. They remained friends for a number of years and wrote material together, which Willis claimed was inspired by BBMak, Blink-182 and the American Pie 2 soundtrack. Initially known as The Termites, Busted were formed in 2000 after open auditions were held by Prestige Artist Management to form a new band. The line-up consisted of Bourne, Willis, Ki Fitzgerald and Owen Doyle, although this version of the band broke up in October 2001.
Looking to find a new band member, Willis and Bourne placed an ad in NME magazine, titled "Guitarist and singer wanted for pop band…". Auditions were held at Pineapple Studios in Covent Garden in October 2001. Charlie Simpson and Tom Fletcher were both offered a place to complete the line-up, but Busted's manager told Fletcher via a phone call a few days later that the band was to go ahead as a trio, comprising Bourne, Willis and Simpson.
The band was launched in August 2002, making their first appearance on the cover of Smash Hits with the headline: "Meet Busted: They're Going to Be Bigger than Rik Waller!", making it a first for any pop band to appear on the magazine's cover before releasing a single. Their debut single, "What I Go to School For", inspired by a teacher that Willis had a crush on at school, was finally released in September 2002. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and was later performed in a girls school after the students won a BRMB competition. Their debut album, Busted, was then released, initially charting only around the UK Top 30 and receiving mixed reviews from critics however, it went on to peak at number 2. The follow-up "Year 3000", which was written about Bourne's obsession with the film Back to the Future, then followed in January 2003, reaching number two in the UK chart. In April, their third single, "You Said No" became their first number one. British Hit Singles & Albums certified them as the first act ever to have their debut three singles enter the top three in an ascending order.
Recording began for their second album while the debut album was re-released with new tracks and an enhanced CD section. It would go on to sell 1.2 million copies by the end of the year. The debut album's final single, "Sleeping with the Light On", reached number 3 in August 2003, beaten to number one by Blu Cantrell's "Breathe".
2003–2005: A Present for Everyone and split Busted started the summer of 2003 with a win for Favourite Newcomer at the National Music Awards, as well as Best Band at that year's Disney Channel Kids' Awards. After this, the band launched the promotional trail for their new album, A Present for Everyone, and its lead single, "Crashed the Wedding", which reached number one in the UK chart. Edgier than their previous album, Simpson said that it had some "harder, Good Charlotte type vibes coming through on this album". This album would also go on to reach sales of over 1 million copies.
During 2003, Charlie met fellow songwriter-guitarist Alex Westaway and drummer Omar Abidi at a party. He was by this stage becoming increasingly frustrated by the music he was performing in Busted and stated he had "all of this creativity pent up inside and I just needed to vent it somewhere, and I was writing a lot of songs but I couldn't play them, because I didn't have anyone to play them with". During the aforementioned party, an impromptu jam session took place. Simpson, Westaway, and Abidi played Rage Against the Machine's song "Killing in the Name" on loop, and agreed to attend a gig a few days later. After the show, they went back to Simpson's flat and began performing on guitars and a v-drum kit, which led to their first song being written, titled "Too Much Punch". Westaway later invited bassist Dan Haigh to practice with the band and soon began booking regular rehearsal sessions together, under the name Fightstar.
2004 was to prove their final year together as a band. The band performed a successful arena tour to start the year before reaching number one and number two with "Who's David" and "Air Hostess", respectively. They picked up Best British Breakthrough Act and Best Pop Act at that year's BRIT Awards. The boys then headed over to the U.S. to release a self-titled album that was a mixture of their first and second albums. Their exploits were captured for the TV series America or Busted, about Busted's attempts to achieve success in the United States, which ultimately failed. The show debuted on MTV UK in November of that year, over the course of the series, it saw Busted's attempts to 'break' America dwindle as interviews fell through and performances remained limited both in terms of audience size and press attention.
Whilst the band were out in America, they were then invited to record the theme tune to the brand new Thunderbirds film that was coming out that summer. Released as a double A-side with the album track, "3AM", it gave them their fourth and final number one in August 2004, staying at the top for two weeks, the longest they had ever spent at the top. However, the release of the fifth single from their second album, "She Wants to Be Me", failed to chart due to its lone formats being a download and a limited edition pocket sized CD, both of which breached chart regulations at the time. Their live album, A Ticket for Everyone, was released in November peaked at number eleven. The band embarked on another sell-out tour that November, and Busted gained a record of the band to play the most consecutive sellout dates at Wembley Arena, eleven nights. At the end of 2004, Busted were involved in the UK number-one Christmas single, Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with money raised helping to combat HIV and AIDS across Africa, famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan and aid relief in many countries, such as Ethiopia.
Simpson's time spent with Fightstar reportedly began to cause tensions within the band, amplified when Fightstar announced a 14-date UK tour. Simpson announced to Busted's manager on 24 December 2004 over a phone call that he was leaving the band to focus on Fightstar full-time. On 13 January 2005, Busted's record label announced that a press conference was to be held at the Soho Hotel in London the following day. The next day, the 14th, it was then announced that Busted were splitting up after Simpson's departure weeks before.
In an interview with Kerrang! in November 2009, Simpson said, "It was a real fun thing to be doing, and I got on well with everyone I was doing it with, but on the other side, the music wasn't really fulfilling me. I have good memories of the time because we were traveling the world and doing some amazing things, but then as far as self-fulfillment goes, it wasn't really doing a lot for me, so I have these mixed views when I look back. But there's no doubt that it was an amazing thing to do".
2006–2012: Solo projects and bands Simpson began pursuing a solo career after playing in Fightstar, a post-hardcore band which differs greatly from the sound of Busted. They formed a year prior to Busted's split. To-date they have released one EP and four albums: They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, Grand Unification, One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours, Be Human and Behind the Devil's Back, all being released in both the UK and the US. They have also released an album of b-sides and rarities, "Alternate Endings". Fightstar announced a hiatus at the beginning of 2010, stating that they were "taking some time off" to work on separate projects before regrouping to begin working a new record. After their 2014 reunion and 2015 album, Fightstar began to describe themselves as a "passion project" rather than a full-time band, as the members focus on other projects. Simpson released a solo acoustic album called Young Pilgrim, which peaked at number 6 in the UK Albums Chart in 2011, followed by the 2014 album Long Road Home.
Bourne went on to release music through pop punk band Son of Dork, and pursued a solo career under the name of Future Boy. He has also written songs for many artists including Melanie C, McFly, JC Chasez, Pat Monahan of Train, and the Jonas Brothers. From 2007 to 2008, he was one of the main songwriters for the ITV musical drama, Britannia High.
After a brief stint in rehab after the Busted split, Willis began a solo career, releasing singles in 2006 and 2007, "Up All Night", "Hey Kid", "Don't Let It Go to Waste", and "Crash" for the film Mr Bean's Holiday, all except the latter of which were included on his album Don't Let It Go to Waste. Willis also appeared on, and was the winner of, the 2006 series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. After being dropped from his record label, Willis turned to presenting. He presented at the Brit Awards and ITV2's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! alongside his wife, Emma, the pair worked together on E!, presenting the BAFTAs. On Willis' Myspace, he has stated that he is currently writing with his new band, yet to be named.
2013–2015: McBusted
From 19 to 22 September 2013, Willis and Bourne made a surprise brief reunion as McBusted when they joined McFly as special guests during the band's four 10th anniversary concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. They performed "Year 3000", "Air Hostess" and McFly's "Shine a Light" with McFly under the name 'McBusted'. McFly and Busted confirmed a 2014 tour together. Simpson said through Twitter that although he would not be joining the new supergroup, he wished them the best of luck in the future. McBusted released their debut album, McBusted, on 1 December 2014. They then embarked on another sold out UK tour, McBusted's Most Excellent Adventure Tour.
Willis also revealed that Busted had been approached to star in the ITV2 series The Big Reunion, but turned it down because "it didn't feel right for our band."
2015–2016: Simpson's return, comeback tour and Night Driver