When did Busted’s Charlie Simpson get back with Matt Willis and James Bourne and why did they break up?
BUSTED fans were left heartbroken when the band split at the height of their fame in the mid-noughties.
But after many years apart the boys thrilled their followers when they reunited once again.
When did Busted's Charlie Simpson get back with Matt Willis and James Bourne?
In 2015, ten years after breaking millions of teenage hearts, Busted got back together.
At the time it was seen as a dramatic turnaround, as no Busted fan EVER thought Charlie Simpson, who was a vocalist, lead guitarist and occasional drummer for the group, reunited with Matt Willis and James Bourne.
But the singer swallowed his pride for a massive pay cheque, even though Charlie said this WASN'T why the band got back together.
Speaking to The Sun in 2015 he said: “I can see why someone would think I want a piece of the action after seeing the success of McBusted, but financial motivation isn’t what this is about.
“Anyone who knows me knows I love music and I could have made a lot more money staying in Busted in the first place. I wouldn’t just do it for money.
"I genuinely thought we would never re-form. So really I am the most shocked out of everyone.”
Then in 2023 Busted thrilled fans again when they revealed they would be releasing a brand new album AND going back on tour.
Again speaking to The Sun, James said of their second comeback: “It’s out of this world that we get to do this and we couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s going to be wicked.”
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Why did Busted break up?
If you watched that fateful press conference in 2005, you'll know from the heartbroken faces of James and Matt that neither of them wanted the band to split.
The group were at the peek of their career when Charlie decided he no longer wanted to be in the group.
The band shot to fame in 2002 with the HUGE song What I Go To School For and after that they continued to rack up hit after hit.
But by the end of 2004 Charlie had set his sights on a different musical direction, and Christmas that year he told a tearful Matt and James he wanted out, and would be forming a new band Fightstar.
That signalled the end of Busted, and the boys confirmed their split in an emotional press conference on January 13, 2005.
What are Busted's biggest hits?
Busted had four UK No1 hit singles and two top 10 albums.
They first hit number one with their third hit You Said No, followed by Crashed The Wedding, Who's David and Thunderbirds/3am.
However their most popular song is Year 3000 which hit a high of No2 in 2003.
Their first two albums - Busted and A Present for Everyone - also reached No2 in the UK charts.
Their comeback album, Night Driver, released in 2016 peaked at No13, while 2019 offering Half Way There reached No2.
The band racked up a HUGE amount of hits during their time in the spotlight, which include (in order of popularity):
- Year 3000 (2002)
- What I Go To School For (2002)
- Crashed the Wedding (2003)
- Air Hostess (2003)
- Sleeping With The Light On (2002)
- Who's David (2003)
- Thunderbirds Are Go (2003)
- Meet You There (2003 and 2015)
- Crash and Burn (2002)
- On What You're On (2016)
What was McBusted?
During Charlie's time away from the band, Matt and James, together with their pals McFly, formed boyband supergroup McBusted.
The six-piece supergroup consisted of Matt and James along with the four MFly boys, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd.
The band were a huge hit during their time together from 2013 to 2015.
They performed to sell-out arena gigs as well as released new music.