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 Ipswich. He is a member of the rock 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.
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".
A Ticket for Everyone is a live album by English pop punk band Busted. It contains twelve tracks recorded during the Manchester leg of their A Present for Everyone tour, plus the studio version of "Thunderbirds Are Go!", which had not previously been included on an album in the United Kingdom. The album contains live versions of the group's singles, as well as a cover of the 1978 Undertones song "Teenage Kicks" and album track "That Thing You Do". The Continental version of the album omits "She Wants to Be Me", due to contractual issues, and the studio version of "Thunderbirds Are Go!", as it was previously issued on the 2004 reissue of A Present for Everyone in Continental Europe. The DVD version omits the live performance of Thunderbirds Are Go but includes the music video as a bonus feature. The DVD also includes a cover of the 2003 Black Eyed Peas song Where Is the Love? and the album tracks Why, Britney, Better Than This, Fake and Nerdy.
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 track "Lost Like Tears in Rain" contains the line "It's Neon Genesis" to support the band's interest in the anime series. The artwork, drawn digitally by Daniel Conway, also 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.
Riffs is the twenty-sixth studio album by the English rock band Status Quo, released in November 2003. Ten tracks were cover versions of pop and rock standards, the other five were re-recordings of songs they had previously issued during the 1970s. The initial release also included a bonus 9-track DVD, featuring footage recorded for television programmes and also the video for the 2002 Top 20 hit 'Jam Side Down', recorded on HMS Ark Royal. This was originally planned to be released one week after the album "Heavy Traffic", but was pushed back in time by the record company.
"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.
"Deathcar" is the third single from Fightstar's second album One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours, and was released on 3 December 2007.
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.
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"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.
Judas Jump was a British short-lived progressive rock supergroup, formed in 1969. The band released one album and three singles before disbanding in 1971. They are best known for their various members who had success before and after Judas Jump.
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.
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).
