Busted (band)
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| Busted | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genre(s) | Pop[1] Pop punk[2] |
| Years active | 2001—2005 |
| Label(s) | Island Records |
| Associated acts | McFly, Son Of Dork, Fightstar, V |
| Website | Busted.com |
| Former members | |
| James Bourne (Rhythm Guitar and Vocals) Charlie Simpson (Lead Guitar and Vocals) Matt Willis (Bass Guitar and Vocals) |
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Busted were a British pop punk band consisting of James Bourne (rhythm guitar), Charlie Simpson (lead guitar and occasionally drums), and Matt Willis (then called Matt Jay; bass guitar). They sold over 3 million albums worldwide[3], winning BRIT Awards, Record Of The Year and performing on several sellout arena tours.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation, The Termites (2000-2002)
The band's initial line-up consisted of James Bourne on Guitar and Vocals, Matt Willis on Drums, Owen Doyle on Bass and Vocals, and Ki McPhail on Guitar and Vocals [4] called The Termites. The latter two members were sacked later that year.
The Termites went through a name change to Busted and briefly placed Tom Fletcher as Rhythm Guitar and Vocals alongside Matt Willis on Bass and Vocals and James Bourne on Lead Guitar and Vocals. After about 24-hours in the band, Tom was replaced by Charlie Simpson. However, Fletcher was kept on for other projects which led to him becoming a member and main songwriter for his own band, McFly, who supported Busted on their UK tour in the early part of 2004. He also co-wrote, with James, both albums that Busted released.
With Charlie on board, they set about looking for a record deal in late 2001. At one point they were offered a big deal with Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell on his SycoMusic label, which they turned down. The band finally signed with Universal Island in early 2002 without a drummer, and so employed a number of session musicians to fill the role on stage and in the studio.
[edit] First album (2002-03)
The band were 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", was finally released in September 2002, reaching #3 in the UK charts. Their debut album was then released, initially charting only around the Top 30 and receiving mixed reviews from critics.
The follow up, "Year 3000" which was written about James Bourne's obsession with the film Back to the Future then followed in January 2003, reaching #2 in the UK chart. In April, their third single, "You Said No" finally reached #1. Guinness Hit Singles certified them as the first band to have their debut three singles enter the top 3 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 onto sell 1.2 million copies by the end of the year. The debut album's final single, "Sleeping With The Light On", reached #3 in August 2003, beaten to number 1 by Blu Cantrell's Breathe.
[edit] Second album (2003-04)
The band started the autumn 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 #1 in the UK chart. More edgy 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. The band ended 2003 with a nomination at Record Of The Year for "Year 3000" (they lost out to Westlife, who won with their #1 "Mandy"), the announcement of an arena tour for February the following year, and a Monkees style Christmas TV special on ITV1, which attracted bad ratings for its 4pm time slot.
2004 was to prove their final year together as a band. The band performed a successful arena tour to start the year before reaching #1 and #3 with "Who's David?" and "Air Hostess" respectively. The band picked up Best British Breakthrough Act and Best Pop Act at that year's BRIT Awards.
The band then headed over to America to release a self titled album that was a mixture of their first and second album. 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 and Ireland in November of that year, over the course of the series, it saw Busted's attempts to 'break' America dwindle as interviews fall through and performances remain limited both in terms of audience size and press attention.
Whilst the band was out in America, they were then invited to record the theme tune to the brand new "Thunderbirds" movie that was coming out that summer. Released as a double-a-side with the album track, "3am", it gave them their fourth and final #1 in August 2004, staying at the top for two weeks, the longest they had ever spent at the top, and would later go onto win them "Record Of The Year" in December that year. However, the release of the 5th 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" reached #11 in November. 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, 11 nights.
[edit] Charity
At the end of 2004, Busted took part in the No.1 Christams single, Band Aid 20 "Do They Know It's Christams" which helped raised money for the charity. Busted also offered an afternoon concert at Wembley Arena to raise more money, and coincide with the Band Aid 20 single release in December 2004 at a time when the band were reaching the end of their record breaking run of sell-out shows at Wembley; and also reaching the end of their career.
[edit] Split (2005)
Charlie Simpson's time spent outside the band with other bands was beginning to cause tensions within the band, illustrated when he failed to turn up for several appearances over the course of 2004. Rumours then started to circulate that bitter rows had escalated, though these have subsequently been denied by the band during their later solo ventures.
Simpson announced to the other Busted members on 24 December 2004 over a phone call that he was no longer a member of the band. Simpson's departure was later confirmed to Willis and Bourne after an announcement on their last night in Wembley Arena from their managers that Charlie would be leaving to pursue Fightstar full time. On the 13 January 2005, Busted's record label announced a press conference was to be held in London the following day. The next day, the 14th, it was then announced that Busted were splitting up after Charlie’s departure weeks before.
[edit] Solo careers (2005-2009)
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008) |
Charlie, is currently in Fightstar (a post-hardcore band which differs greatly from the music Busted recorded). They formed a year prior to Busted's split, which was then the force behind the split. Fightstar have released 1 EP and 3 Albums "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead", "Grand Unification", "One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours" and more recently "Be Human", all being released in both the UK and the US. They have also released a B-Sides and rarities album "Alternate Endings".
James went on to release music through his pop band Son of Dork. Three of the members have since left the band after reports that the band hadn't met up for months. There are reports that the band has disbanded for good, and Bourne is now pursuing a solo career after his performance in NYC. His album is said to be released in early 2009.As well as working on Son Of Dork, Bourne has been writing for many artists, including Melanie C, McFly, JC Chasez, Pat Monahan and the Jonas Brothers. From 2007-2008, he was one of the main songwriters for the ITV musical drama, Britannia High. On Jame's myspace he has stated that he is creating a new band called Call Me When I'm 18. On the band's myspace profile it features a single of a song previously used in Son of Dork called "Go Home Monday".
After a brief stint in rehab after the Busted split, Matt set up a solo career, releasing singles in 2005 and 2006, "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 came with his album Don't Let It Go to Waste. Matt also appeared on, and was crowned winner of the 2006 series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. After a failing solo career Matt has turned to presenting. So far he has presented The Brits and more recently ITV 2's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now! alongside his wife Emma Griffiths, the pair are due to get together again for E! presenting the BAFTAs. Willis also confirmed at the V Festival 2007 that he will be putting together a new band for late 2008.[citation needed] On Matt's myspace he has stated that he is writing work for a new album. Whether this is solo or with a band is unknown. Rumours have spread over the internet stating that the three of them have been shown together on two occasions and this was after the court case. Whether this was because of the court case or not is unknown.
[edit] Court Case (2008)
James Bourne, Matt Willis and ex-manager Richard Rashman faced a £10 million royalty battle with former members Ki McPhail and Owen Doyle who claimed to have written three of band's key singles, What I Go To School For, Sleeping With The Light On and Year 3000, which rose to the top three in the UK charts. Album track Psycho Girl was another track included in the case. It began in February 2008 and included the likes of Simon Cowell[citation needed] as a potential witness and was dismissed in June 2008.[5]
On Friday June 6th 2008 it was announced that Ki McPhail and Owen Doyle had lost the court battle, with the judge calling them both 'unreliable witnesses'. They are planning an appeal. Bourne and Willis released the following statement: "This was an opportunistic attempt by Doyle and McPhail to cash in on our success. Their claims were a complete fabrication and we are delighted that the judge has seen through this and totally dismissed them. Our position has been completely vindicated and our achievements with Busted remain untarnished. [6]
[edit] Discography
- Busted (2002)
- A Present for Everyone (2003)
- Busted (US album - 2004)
- A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live (2004)
[edit] Singles
What I Go To School For (13 September 2002)
Year 3000 (13 January 2003)
You Said No (21 April 2003)
Sleeping With The Light On (11 August 2003)
Crashed The Wedding (10 November 2003)
Who's David? (16 February 2004)
Air Hostess (26 April 2004)
She Wants To Be Me (29 November 2004)
Thunderbirds/3am (26 July 2004)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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