The Busted boys James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson are back together once again. After 11 years of absence and with many reports that they will never reunite, they have finally decided to return bigger and better than ever. They set to take on a British Arena Tour, aptly named Pigs Can Fly. Standing outside Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, fans were screaming and shrieking in excitement as Busted paid a surprise visit to the venue. Charlie Simpson says to us, “It’s exciting this time around. We’ve announced some special tickets for people to buy, which means that fans can actually be on stage with us and be part of the production. It’s a world first, never been done before. A completely immersive experience.”
Speaking of the fans, it was apparent that there’s a new, younger generation of Busted fans. Matt Willis muses, “I just met a girl who was born in 2001. We got signed in 2002, so she was one when we signed our record deal.” With the reality of age kicking in, James Bourne interjects “I don’t feel old at all. I feel not that different from the last time. I feel like that I know more. I’ve experienced more but I feel like that I have the same energy.”
Charlie explains, “What’s different this time around is that we have a lot more experience. We were quite naive and young, we were 16 years old when it started, so it was a bit of a whirlwind. It’s nice to come back to it now when we’re all a bit older and a bit wiser.”
It’s no great secret that Busted went in totally separate directions after their split in 2005, did they regret this split? Charlie said “I think me leaving at the time was essential for this to happen now. We did other things; we got a lot of experience in different ways. I think coming back to it now, that experience has brought a lot to the table.” James adds, “Before the bodies started to decompose, we put it on ice”.
AMANDA HUNT
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Tue 24 May+Thurs 2 Jun. Tickets: £41.50. Info: 029 2023 4500 / www.livenation.co.uk