Charles Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician from Suffolk. He is a member of the BRIT Award winning pop-punk band Busted and he is also lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the post-hardcore band Fightstar.[1][2][3]AllMusic has noted that Simpson is "perhaps the only pop star to make the convincing transition from fresh-faced boy bander to authentic hard rock frontman".[4] Simpson is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, bass, keyboard, piano and drums.[5][6]
Simpson has achieved eleven UK Albums Chart top-40 releases across his musical career, six of which entered the UK top 10. He has also had four number-one singles with Busted and a number-one album, as well as two top-20 singles with Fightstar and two UK top-10 solo albums. Between Busted, Fightstar and his solo projects, he has sold over five million records worldwide, winning two Brit Awards and being nominated for two Kerrang! Awards.
Early life and family
The youngest of three boys, Simpson was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk.[7] He has 2 brothers, Will (born 1980) and Edd (born 1981).He also lived briefly with a cousin, Dan (born 1987). Will is the vocalist and guitarist in Brigade and Edd is the lead singer and guitarist in an alternative band called Union Sound Set. Simpson has a very musical family dating back to Sir William Sterndale Bennett (Charlie's mother's maiden name) who was an English pianist, conductor, and composer, a notable figure in the musical life of his time.[8][9]
Simpson was educated at Brandeston Hall Prep School in Suffolk and then at Uppingham School, where his great grandfather, Robert Sterndale Bennett (1880–1963), had been a most influential Director of Music between 1908 and 1945.[citation needed]
Career
Busted (2002–2005; 2015–present)
Simpson first gained fame with pop rock/pop punk act Busted as a result of responding to an advertisement placed by Matt Willis and James Bourne in NME magazine in 2001.[10] Busted consisted of Simpson on lead guitar and occasionally drums, Willis on bass guitar and Bourne on rhythm guitar and piano; all three members provided vocals. Over a period of two years, the trio had major success and sold over 5 million records,[11] won two BRIT Awards,[12] and also won Record of The Year in 2004.[13]
Simpson left Busted in 2005 to concentrate on post-hardcore band Fightstar.
On 10 November 2015 Busted announced they would be reforming with Simpson back in the original line-up and would embark on an 18 date arena tour around the UK and Ireland. The band sold 100,000 tickets in the first hour of the tour going on sale.[14] Busted's third studio album Night Driver was released in November 2016. In 2018, Busted announced their fourth album Half Way There, along with arena tour dates in March 2019.
After another four year hiatus, whilst the band focused on other projects, in May 2023 Busted announced they would be returning for a 20 Year Anniversary Greatest Hits tour, which went on to become the biggest selling UK arena tour of 2023. They also released a Greatest Hits album which went to number 1 in the UK album charts.
Fightstar (2003–present)
Simpson performing with Fightstar in 2010
Despite the huge success of Busted, Simpson began to grow increasingly discontented with the pop star lifestyle and the music he was performing.[15] As an avid fan of rock music, he felt unfulfilled by the commercial pop songs of Busted.[15]
He met Alex Westaway in late 2003, forming what became Fightstar shortly afterwards. For over a year he would lead a secret "double life": by night he would attend rehearsal sessions with his new band after completing obligated media work and concert performances with Busted.[15] During 2004, he and Westaway wrote Fightstar's debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead. The EP showcased a heavier post-hardcore influenced sound that differed greatly to Busted's material.[16] The EP was recorded during November with Mark Williams in London.[15] During this time, speculation began to grow about Busted's future. He announced he was leaving Busted to pursue his career full-time with Fightstar in January 2005.
Simpson then funded and put together a compilation album called The Suffolk Explosion, which was released through his own label Sandwich Leg Records. It showcased a number of unsigned bands from Charlie's home county of Suffolk, including Brigade and Prego, as well as a solo acoustic track written by him called "Carry Her".[17]
Fightstar went on to record their debut full-length studio album with rock producer Colin Richardson. Grand Unification was released on 13 March 2006, and further proved the initial cynics wrong by receiving widespread positive reviews. In particular, Paul Brannigan of Kerrang! magazine stated the album was "one of the best British rock albums of the past decade".[18] Scottish music publication The Fly also lauded the album as "one of the 21st Century's ultimate rock debuts".[19] Shortly afterwards, the band went on to receive nominations at the Kerrang! Awards for "Best British Newcomer" and "Best British Band".[20] After leaving Island Records due to a disagreement over the band's artistic direction,[21] the band signed to an independent label called Institute Records which was a division of Gut Records to release their second album.[22]One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007), peaked at No. 27 on the UK Album Chart,[23] before releasing a B-sidescompilation album titled Alternate Endings (2008). The four-piece then funded and co-produced their third album, Be Human (2009). Fightstar released their forth full length album Behind The Devils Back (2015), which would be their most critically acclaimed album, making Rock Sound magazine's Top 50 Albums list for 2015.
On November 6th 2023 Fightstar announced they would be returning for their biggest ever headline show at Wembley Arena to mark the bands twenty year anniversary.
Solo career (2010–present)
On 29 July 2009, he made a Myspace page for his acoustic solo work. There were three songs on the page, "Dead Man Walking", 'Empty Guns (Demo)', and 'Carry Her'.[24] 'Carry Her' was previously available on The Suffolk Explosion.
Fightstar announced a hiatus at the beginning of 2010, stating that they were "taking some time off" for the remainder of 2010–11 to work on separate projects before regrouping in 2012 to begin working a new record. Simpson has started working on a solo acoustic album, while Westaway and Haigh will be completing post-production on the bands film and working on some music videos.[25]
Simpson went into the studio in June 2010 to start recording his full-length debut album with producer Danton Supple, whose previous work includes Coldplay and The Cure. The album was funded through PledgeMusic and as one of the main incentives for the campaign, fans received an EP called When We Were Lions on Christmas Day 2010. The full-length album was finally finished in February 2011 and was mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios in London. The first single to be taken from the album was called "Down Down Down" and it had its first radio airplay on 11 April, as Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton's Record of the Week. The single was officially released on 16 May, though it was made available to buy on iTunes straight away. The album, titled Young Pilgrim was released on 15 August 2011. It went straight into the UK album chart at number 6, having been at number 5 in the midweeks. Simpson signed to PIAS Records in Germany and the album was released in Europe in August 2012.
On 2 February 2013, it was reported that Simpson had finished writing the follow-up to his 2011 solo debut 'Young Pilgrim' and he would be heading into the studio with producer Steve Osbourne (U2/Placebo) to start recording in early March.
Simpson spent the summer of 2013 playing on the Vans Warped Tour in the US, which was the first time he has played live as a solo artist in America. During October 2013, Charlie went on a tour of the UK supporting rock band, Deaf Havana. He previewed two new tracks from the forthcoming album "Winter Hymns" and "Ten More Days". In 2014, he undertook a small run of solo shows in the UK in the lead up to the release of his second solo album.
Simpson announced on 28 April 2014 that his second solo album is to be called Long Road Home and will be released later that year, since revealing the release date would be 4 August 2014.[26]
In October 2014, Simpson announced that he would play a 13 date UK solo acoustic tour in January/February of the following year.[27]
On 5 May 2016, Simpson released his third solo album, Little Hands, a compilation of rare tracks from 2010 though 2016. The first single was a stripped-down version of "Emily". The album also included the track from the Watch UKTV series Singing In the Rainforest, "Walking With the San", which first aired in 2015. The song was recorded as part of the show in which Charlie travelled to Namibia to spend time living and playing music with the San people. After the show aired, an edit was made to act as a music video for the song and was uploaded to Facebook, the track has since gone viral and has been viewed over 14,000,000 times.
On 23 October 2020, Simpson released the first track from his upcoming album I See You, which peaked at 39 on the iTunes chart in its first week.[28] In late 2021, Simpson announced his fourth album Hope Is A Drug would be released in March 2022. He announced a planned Hope Is A Drug tour.[29] The tour was later postponed citing delays to album supply chains and shipping caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other works
In 2015, Simpson released an EP with a side project called Once Upon a Dead Man alongside his two brothers Will and Edd Simpson, and friend Simon Britcliff. On 10 November 2015,
Outside of his main musical activities, Simpson also has frequently collaborated with other musicians, which include This Is Menace, Gunship (the side project of his Fightstar bandmates, Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh) as well as indie band, The Travis Waltons. With Gunship, he co-wrote and lent his voice for their highly critical acclaimed single, "Tech Noir", of Gunship's debut album.[30] In 2018, he contributed to Bullet for My Valentine's sixth album Gravity, receiving a songwriting credit on the track "Breathe Underwater". He also co-wrote the song Can't Escape The Waves on Bullet For My Valentine's 2022 self titled album.
Charlie has also been involved in film scoring, stating in an interview that this was something he was keen to pursue later in his career. He wrote the score for an independent British film 'Everyone's Going To Die', which debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2013.[citation needed]
In 2023, Simpson won the fourth series of The Masked Singer as "Rhino", making him the first male winner in the UK.[31] After his victory, he released the EP Kifaru containing songs he performed on The Masked Singer.[32]
In 2023, Simpson appeared on Gunship's third album "Unicorn", lending his voice to "Tech Noir 2", the sequel to "Tech Noir" from the first album. with film director John Carpenter and Tim Cappello from Tina Turner (1939–2023) and the movie The Lost Boys (1987) on Saxophone.[33]
Personal life
Simpson married his long-time girlfriend Anna Barnard in June 2014, following the announcement of their engagement the week earlier.[34] During a show on his 2015 UK Tour at London's Islington Assembly Hall,[citation needed] Simpson announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child together. On 21 July that year, Simpson's wife gave birth to their first son, Arlo Simpson. In February 2018, their second son, Jago was born.[35][36]
In 2004, Simpson was quoted in Tatler magazine as saying he supported the Conservative Party, stating that he'd "grown up with their views" and "way of doing things".[37] According to The Guardian, Simpson "was pilloried just like Phil Collins and Geri Halliwell before him".[38] However, he later denied this claim of a political allegiance to the Conservatives, saying, "The Tory thing is complete bulls--t! It came out of Matt's mouth in an interview taking the complete p--s, and it was on the front cover of a newspaper. He was like laughing when he said it. Matt's Labour! He said something like, 'Now I've got loads of money I'm a f--king Tory boy,' laughing."[39]
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.
McFly are an English pop rock/pop band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the Back to the Future character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd (drums). They were signed to Island Records from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records.
James Elliot Bourne is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is known as the co-founder of pop-punk bands Busted and Son of Dork, and he also created his own electronic project under the alias Future Boy. From 2013 to 2015 he was a member of McBusted, which consisted of himself, Busted bandmate Matt Willis, and McFly.
Fightstar is a British rock band from London that formed in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, guitarist and co-vocalist Alex Westaway, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi. Generally considered a post-hardcore band as a whole, Fightstar are known to incorporate metal, alternative rock and other genres into their sound. Their 2005 debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, was released in 2005 and was a critical success.
They Liked You Better When You Were Dead is the debut EP by English rock band Fightstar, released on 28 February 2005 through Sandwich Leg Records. The release proved a critical success, in spite of the cynics' initial expectations of the band. It has been said that the EP helped "present Fightstar as a British rival to the East Coast alternative rock scene". Alex Westaway, the band's lead guitarist and co-lyricist drew the artwork based on Edward Norton for the inlay of the booklet, as the record was inspired by author Chuck Palahniuk and the film adaptation Fight Club.
A Present for Everyone is the second studio album by English pop punk band Busted. It was released on 17 November 2003 by Universal Island Records and features a sound mixing pop punk and power pop material with traditional pop rock. Five singles were released from the album, including the number-one hits "Crashed the Wedding", "Who's David" and "Thunderbirds / 3AM".
Grand Unification is the debut studio album by British post-hardcore band Fightstar, released on 13 March 2006 through Island Records. Based upon the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, Grand Unification was produced by Colin Richardson and is considered a concept album. The artwork, drawn digitally by Daniel Conway, portrays scenes similar to that of the ruined cities in Evangelion. It is also thought to believe the cover has taken influence from the song "Grand Unification Part 2" as the lyric "hold my hand until the waves come" and the cover features two persons holding hands waiting for what appears to be a flood. The lyrics are themed around social commentary at the end of the world, while the album's title refers to the Human Instrumentality Project.
Dan Haigh is an English musician, film director, video game designer, writer and visual effects artist. He is best known as co-founder of synthwave band Gunship and as the bass player in the English rock band Fightstar.
Brigade are a British alternative rock band from London, England, formed in 2003. The four-piece consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Will Simpson, lead guitarist and backing vocalist James Plant, bassist Naoto Hori, and drummer Andrew Kearton.
One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours is the second studio album by British post-hardcore band Fightstar, released on 24 September 2007 through Institute Recordings, itself a subsidiary of independent label Gut Records. Recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Matt Wallace, the album debuted at number twenty seven on the UK Albums Chart and was preceded by the free downloadable single, "99" and first official single, "We Apologise for Nothing". As with the bands debut album, Daniel Conway digitally painted the albums artwork.
"The English Way" was the first single to be taken from Fightstar's third studio album, Be Human. It was released on 3 November 2008.
Be Human is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Fightstar, released on 20 April 2009 through independent label Search and Destroy Records, itself distributed by PIAS Recordings. The album was recorded between August and December 2008 in Chesterfield and London, with the band co-producing alongside Laruso guitarist Carl Bown. Additional recording took place Air Studios with string composer Audrey Riley. Unlike their first two studio releases, Daniel Conway did not contribute to the album's artwork, instead the band approached Ryohei Hase who digitally painted the cover art.
Alex Westaway is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist of Gunship and co-vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Fightstar alongside Charlie Simpson, Omar Abidi and Dan Haigh.
"A City on Fire" is a song by English post-hardcore band Fightstar, released 20 December 2009, on Search and Destroy Records as a digital download only.
Young Pilgrim is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Charlie Simpson. The album was produced by Danton Supple and was released on 15 August 2011 through independent label PIAS Recordings.
McBusted were an English pop-punk supergroup composed of members from bands McFly and Busted. The only member of the original groups not participating in the new lineup was former Busted guitarist and vocalist Charlie Simpson, who instead opted to focus on his solo career and his rock band Fightstar.
Long Road Home is the second top ten UK studio album by British singer-songwriter Charlie Simpson.
Behind the Devil's Back is the fourth studio album by British post-hardcore band Fightstar. The album was released on 16 October 2015 via the band's own record label - distributed by Warner Music. The album was funded via a Pledge Music campaign, which launched in July 2015.
Night Driver is the third studio album by English pop rock band Busted. It was released through East West Records on 25 November 2016, and is the band's first album of new material in thirteen years, following on from A Present for Everyone (2003). The album marked a notable shift in sound from their previous albums, incorporating synthpop and alternative pop elements. It received positive reviews from critics.
Gunship is a British synthwave band formed in 2014 by Dan Haigh and Alex Westaway; they were later joined by drummer Alex Gingell.
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