Busted were a British pop group made up of three members: James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Jay. They were signed to Universal Island and released seven singles and two albums in the UK Charts. Their sound could be described as "pop-rock" or "pop-punk". They could also be described as a boyband, although they sang live and in all but their earliest songs played their own guitars.

The band was formed in 2001 by James and Matt, with Charlie joining a few months later after answering an advert in the NME. Their first single, What I Go To School For, was released on September 17 2002 and got to number three in the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album was released on October 1 2002 with mixed success in the beginnings, debuting in the Top 40 Album Chart, but drifting out fairly soon after.

In 2003, the band released another single, Year 3000, reaching number two in the charts, and prompting a resurgence in album sales. Two more singles from the first album were released later in 2003. A second album was released in October 2003, with the first single, Crashed the Wedding, reaching number one in the charts. A second single, Who's David?, also reached number 1, but the third single, Air Hostess, only reached number 2. They finally returned to number 1 with Thunderbirds Are Go/3am, the first song being from the soundtrack of the movie "Thunderbirds", and the second being the third song from their album. None of their previous number one singles have stayed at number one for longer than a week, with this single staying at the top spot for two weeks.

A series about Busted's attempts to break America, America or Busted , started on MTV in the UK in November 2004.

Busted were also known for their feuds with other pop groups including Girls Aloud and Kelly Osbourne.

McFly, a similar group and friends of Busted, also enjoyed chart success.

Busted released a live album, called A Ticket For Everyone in late 2004. They are also going to release a new single, She Wants To Be Me.

On 4 December, 2004 Busted's "Thunderbirds" won the public vote for Record of the Year 2004 in the UK in a live show on ITV.

Busted were also winners of Best Pop and Best Breakthrough Act at the 2004 Brit Awards.

After months of speculation, and an announcement that Charlie Simpson was to 'take a break' to tour with his rock group, Fightstar, Busted called a press conference on January 14th 2005. It was announced that Busted were to split, as Charlie had become disillusioned with the band, and wanted to concentrate fully on Fightstar.

Busted's last venture together was as part of Band Aid 20, a charity group put together by Bob Geldof. The group released a new version of 80s hit Do They Know It's Christmas? in order to raise funds for the Darfur region in Sudan. The single spent several weeks at number one in the UK charts.

Subsequent Statements By the Band

James Bourne; "We’re not going to carry on because Busted needs to be remembered the way Busted was - not two of us carrying it on."

Charlie Simpson, lead singer; "Being in Busted was a dream come true, every day was wonderful. I'll really miss Jay and Matt, but at the end of the day I could not continue performing and writing music which I believe to be weak and cynically aimed at pre pubescent girls who will inevitably opt for style and trends over substance. That said I wish my ex band mates all the best in the future".

Matt Jay; "The only thing that really annoys us is anyone thinking we don’t get on. James has been my butt buddy for five years and Charlie is one of my best friends."

Discography

Singles (UK chart positions)

1. What I Go to School For – #3
2. Year 3000 – #2
3. You Said No – #1
4. Sleeping with the Light On – #3
5. Crashed the Wedding – #1
6. Who's David? – #1
7. Air Hostess – #2
8. Thunderbirds Are Go/3am – #1

Albums (UK chart positions)

1. Busted – #2
2. A Present For Everyone – #2
3. Busted Live: A Ticket For Everyone – #11

External links

• "Busted Split Announcement", Official Busted Site, 14 January 2005