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 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 released 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 20 year anniversary, consisting of an upcoming album and tour.
Charles Robert Simpson is an English singer, songwriter and musician from Suffolk. He is a member of the pop-punk band Busted and he is also the lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist in the British post-hardcore band Fightstar. 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". Simpson is a multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, bass, keyboard, piano and drums.
Fightstar are 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. During the band's early days, they were viewed sceptically by critics because of Simpson's former pop career with Busted. Their live shows got a more positive reaction, and their 2005 debut EP, They Liked You Better When You Were Dead, 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.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project is a life simulation computer game based on the anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The player assumes control of both Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi, the protagonists of the aforementioned anime series, to "raise" Shinji. This is done through making him complete a number of different tasks. Shinji Ikari Raising Project is the second and final entry in the Raising Project series of Evangelion games, preceded by Neon Genesis Evangelion: Ayanami Raising Project in 2001. Both games bear a strong similarity to publisher Gainax's Princess Maker series. The game was released officially in Japanese and Korean, and has received fan translations into English and Russian. The game was written by Nobuaki Takerube, and its artwork was drawn by Kengo Yonekura and Dream Japan Co., Ltd.
"Fear of the Dark" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Written by Steve Harris, the band's bass player and primary songwriter, it serves as the title track to Iron Maiden's 1992 album Fear of the Dark.
"Hazy Eyes" is the fourth single from the debut Fightstar album Grand Unification. Written by Charlie Simpson and Alex Westaway, "Hazy Eyes" was released a year after the first single "Paint Your Target".
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.
"Floods" is the fourth single from Fightstar's second studio album, One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours. It was originally intended to be released as the second single, however this was changed to "We Apologise For Nothing" due to the recent floods in the UK at that time.
The VinylDisc is a combination of a digital layer, either in CD or DVD format, and an analog layer, which is a vinyl record, developed by the German company Optimal Media Production. It consists of a silver layer containing CD or DVD and a black polyvinyl chloride layer which can be played on a regular phonograph.
Alternate Endings is a compilation album by English post-hardcore band Fightstar, released 11 August 2008 on Gut Records. It features previously unreleased material, b-sides, covers and live radio recordings from the previous four years.
"I Am the Message" was the fifth and final single by British rock band Fightstar, from their second studio album One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours. The song was released as a 7" vinyl and digital download on 16 June.
"For He's a Jolly Good Felon" is the third single from the album The Betrayed, the fourth album by Welsh alternative rock band Lostprophets. According to the band's mailing list, the single was set to be released on 11 April 2010. The single's formats included 7" vinyl, a digital download, an iTunes single, and a remix version by L'Amour La Morgue. The cover for the single was posted to Dragonninja.com on 1 March 2010.
"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.
"Mercury Summer" is the second single from Fightstar's third studio album, Be Human. It was released on 6 April 2009.
"Never Change" is the third single to be taken from Fightstar's third studio album, Be Human, and was released on 20 July 2009.
"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.
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.
"Nineties" is a song by English pop punk band Busted. It was released on 2 November 2018 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Half Way There (2019).
