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Busted (band)

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Busted were a BRIT Award winning British pop band consisting of James Bourne, Charlie Simpson, and Matt Willis. They sold over three million albums worldwide[1], winning two BRIT Awards[2], Record of the Year[3] and performing on several sellout arena tours.[4][5]

History

Formation, The Termites (2000-02)

The band, initially called The Termites, 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. That March, the four signed a deal with a professional management company, changing their name to Busted the following month. In October, however, McPhail and Doyle say they were kicked out of the group.[6][7] The latter two members were sacked later that year.[8]

The Termites went through a name change to Busted and briefly placed Tom Fletcher as lead guitarist and vocalist, alongside Willis and Bourne. After about twenty four hours in the band, Fletcher 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. Fletcher also co-wrote songs with Bourne which featured on both Busted albums.

With Simpson on board, they set about looking for a record deal in late 2001. At one point they were offered a 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.

Busted (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 number three in the UK charts. Their debut album was then released, initially charting only around the Top thirty 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 number two in the UK chart. In April, their third single, "You Said No" finally reached number one. Guinness Hit Singles certified them as the first band 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 onto sell 1.2 million copies by the end of the year. The debut album's final single, "Sleeping with the Light On", reached number three in August 2003, beaten to number one by Blu Cantrell's Breathe.

A Present for Everyone (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 number one 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 number one and number three 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.[9]

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 number one 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[10]. 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" 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, eleven nights.

Charity

At the end of 2004, Busted were involved in the UK Number One Christmas single,[11] Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's Christmas?"[12] 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.[11]

Split (2005)

Simpson's time spent with Fightstar reportedly began cause tensions within the band,[13] amplified when Fightstar announced a 14-date UK tour.[14] 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.[15] On the 13 January 2005, Busted's record label announced a press conference was to be held at the Soho Hotel in London the following day.[16] The next day, the 14th, it was then announced that Busted were splitting up after Simpson's departure weeks before.[13][17] In a recent interview Charlie has 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 travelling the world and doing some amazing things, but then as far as self-fulfilment 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."[18]

Solo careers (2005-present)

Matt Willis had a brief solo career after Busted broke up.

Simpson is currently in Fightstar, a post-hardcore band which differs greatly from the sound of Busted.[19] They formed a year prior to Busted's split. To-date they have released one EP and three albums "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead",[20] "Grand Unification",[21] "One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours",[22] and more recently "Be Human",[23] all being released in both the UK and the US. They have also released an album of b-sides and rarities, "Alternate Endings".[24] Out of the three, Simpson's music career has remained the most stable and successful.

Bourne went on to release music through pop band Son of Dork,[25] but is now pursuing a solo career under the name of Future Boy.[26] Bourne has also written songs for many artists, including Melanie C,[27] McFly,[28] JC Chasez,[29] Patrick Monahan,[30] and the Jonas Brothers. From 2007- 2008, he was one of the main songwriters for the ITV musical drama, Britannia High.[31] On Bourne's Myspace he has stated that he has created a new band called Call Me When I'm 18.[32]

After a brief stint in rehab after the Busted split,[33] Matt set up a solo career,[34] 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,[35] 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!.[36] After being dropped from his record label,[37] Willis has turned to presenting. So far he has presented at the Brit Awards[38] and more recently ITV2's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! Now alongside his wife, Emma Willis,[39] the pair are due to get together again for E!, presenting the BAFTAs.[40] On Willis' MySpace, he has stated that he is currently writing with his new band, yet to be named.[41]

Court Case (2008)

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.[42]

Bourne & Willis on outcome of the court case
From The Guardian

In early 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 hit 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, along with album track "Psycho Girl".[43] McPhail and Doyle claimed that they had been forced to give up their rights to a number of songs and never received payment for them.[44] But at the end of a fifteen day trial, on 6 June, it was announced that McPhail and Doyle had lost the battle, with the judge calling them both "unreliable witnesses"; "[McPhail] quite plainly exaggerated and distorted the real events... [Doyle] was not a reliable witness either. He manifested a high degree of confusion and a failure to grasp the detail in relation to many of the significant events"[44].

In a statement after the trial McPhail and Doyle said that they would appeal the decision. “Owen, Ki and their families are very disappointed and frustrated at the judgment made here today,” it said. “They came to court for justice and for the deserved recognition as co-writers of Busted's songs. “The judge has avoided making a decision on that point. So the case remains unresolved after seven years. “An appeal will be launched immediately.” [45]

Discography

Main article: Busted discography
Album information
Busted
  • Released: 30 September 2002 (UK & Ireland)
A Present for Everyone
  • Released: 17 November 2003 (UK & Ireland)
Busted
  • Released: 12 October 2004 (US)
A Ticket for Everyone: Busted Live
  • Released: 1 November 2005 (UK & Ireland)

References

  1. ^ America Or Busted Episode 2
  2. ^ "Busted Confirm Split". NME. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  3. ^ "Busted Win Record Of Year". Sky. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  4. ^ "Busted Announce Arena Tour". Tour Dates. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  5. ^ "Busted Arena Tour 2004". Busted. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  6. ^ "Busted members in royalties fight". BBC News. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  7. ^ "Busted members in royalties fight". BBC News. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  8. ^ "Royalties case brought by Ki McPhail and Owen Doyle ends in a Busted flush". London: The Times. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  9. ^ Two awards for Busted at the Brits.
  10. ^ Busted win Record Of The Year
  11. ^ a b "Band Aid 20 single storms to No 1". BBC News. 2004-12-05. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  12. ^ "McCartney confirms Band Aid role". BBC News. 2004-11-05. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  13. ^ a b "Boy band Busted decide to split". BBC News. 2005-01-14. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  14. ^ "Fightstar tour; Busted don't". Drowned In Sound. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  15. ^ "BUSTED - SIMPSON: 'I'D QUIT BUSTED IN AN INSTANT'". Contact Music. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  16. ^ "Busted Press Conference On Friday". PopDirt. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  17. ^ "Boy band Busted split". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  18. ^ "This is who I am Orange Exclusive". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  19. ^ "Fightstar Biography". All Music. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  20. ^ "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead Ep ~ Fightstar". Amazon. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  21. ^ "Grand Unification ~ Fightstar". Amazon. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  22. ^ "One Day Son This Will Be Yours ~ Fightstar". Amazon. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  23. ^ "Be Human ~ Fightstar". Amazon. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  24. ^ "Alternate Endings ~ Fightstar". Amazon. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  25. ^ "MySpace: Son of Dork". MySpace. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  26. ^ "MySpace: Future Boy". MySpace. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  27. ^ "Melanie C - This Time (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  28. ^ "McFly star wants to write for other artists". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  29. ^ "MySpace.com Blogs - JC Chasez - Happy Halloween!". MySpace. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  30. ^ "Facebook - Pat Monahan Info". Facebook. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  31. ^ "Ex-Busted Members Seek £10million In Royalties". PopSugar. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  32. ^ "MySpace: Call Me When I'm 18". MySpace. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  33. ^ "Matt Willis "fine" after rehab stint". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  34. ^ "Busted's Matt Willis to go solo". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  35. ^ "Crash [single] ~ Matt Willis". Amazon. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  36. ^ "Matt crowned 'King of the Jungle'". BBC News. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  37. ^ "Busted - Willis dropped by Record Label". Contact Music. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  38. ^ "Matt Willis Celebrity Grilling". Now Magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  39. ^ "Matt Willis To Present I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here Now!". UnrealityTV. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  40. ^ "Ex-Busted Members Seek £10million In Royalties". Pop Sugar. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  41. ^ "MySpace.com Blogs - Matt Willis - new band". MySpace. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  42. ^ "Busted! Judge raps duo over song claims". Guardian Music. 2007-01-12.
  43. ^ "Busted members in £10million unpaid royalties High Court fight". Mirror. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  44. ^ a b "Ex-Busted duo lose High Court battle". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  45. ^ "royalties case brought by Ki Mcphail and Owen Doyle ends in a busted flush-Times Online". TimesOnline. {{cite web}}: External link in (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "url web" ignored (help)
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