Busted has announced that their recently announced 20th anniversary tour will be much better than the “awkwardness” of their 2015 reunion.
Eight years ago, a decade after band member Charlie Simpson, now 37, announced he was leaving the pop-rock group, Busted reunited for a tour and third album.
Last week the trio, made up of Charlie, James Bourne, 39, and Matt Willis, also 39, announced they were going to announce a 15-date series of celebratory concerts.
But they insist things will be different this time after they weren’t in the best place for their meeting in 2015.
Matt explained to the Mirror: ‘I don’t think Busted fans have gotten this from us yet. They haven’t had a real Busted celebration, if you’re a Busted fan you’ll want to check this out.
Ready to hit the road: Busted have announced that their recently announced 20th anniversary tour will be much better than the ‘awkwardness’ of their 2015 reunion (L-R: James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis)
Well-oiled machine: They insist things will be different this time after they weren’t in the best place for their meeting in 2015 (pictured in 2004)
James continued: ‘All pigs can fly [tour] the whole moment was overshadowed by, “Oh, they’re doing it, they’re getting back together.”
“The weirdness is gone, we’ve broken the ice,” Charlie added before James chimed in: “The awkwardness is gone and we can come back for our 20th anniversary the way we’d like to.”
James continued: “We were talking about doing it a certain way and I think in the end we all agreed that it was better to plan it right, not rush it.”
“That’s why we’re arguably a year behind schedule, but I think it’s better to do it the right way, just a little bit later.”
After teasing fans on social media that a big announcement would be dropping on Thursday, the Busted trio, consisting of Charlie Simpson, James Bourne and Matt Willis, announced a 15-date run.
It will start in Plymouth on September 2 and finish in Manchester on September 24.
speaking to SunJames, 39, said: ‘It’s out of this world that we can do this and we couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s going to be evil.
Charlie and Matt admitted they’re glad they broke up in 2005 after the former quit to focus on his other band, Fightstar, because there was a lot of tension towards the end.
Comeback: Busted will return this year with a 15-show tour and the release of a new album (pictured from 2019)
Asked if he expected a reunion back then, Charlie, 37, said: ‘No. That day I did not. I’m glad we broke up at that point because it allowed us to do this and get back together.”
The band reunited in 2015 and released the albums Night Driver, in 2016, and Half Way There, in 2019.
Matt, 39, continued: “People have asked me: ‘Do you regret breaking up?’ And I don’t. It was crap towards the end of Busted.
“There was a very bad vibe in the camp and it seemed like the right time to stop that.
‘Now it feels like it should feel. It’s like the beginning again. Right now she feels like she has only just begun.
The You Said No hitmakers have also revealed that they are set to release an album of reworkings of their biggest hits.
It will feature other 2000s rock bands including McFly, Simple Plan and All Time Low.
The first reworked track will be Loser Kid, which will be released on April 14 and features pop punk legends Simple Plan.
James commented, “They feel fresh and like they were written yesterday.”
Matt added: “This reinvigorated everything and suddenly we’re making a lot of plans.”
Tickets for the 20th Anniversary Tour go on general sale March 31 at 9 am A
20 years old: Posting a cryptic video to the band’s Instagram page, the pop trio, made up of Charlie Simpson, James Bourne and Matt Willis, captioned the post: ’03/23/23 #Busted20′ (pictured is 2004)