Busted have announced a 20th anniversary tour and album.
After teasing fans on social media that a big announcement was set to drop on Thursday (23.03.23), the pop rock trio – comprising Charlie Simpson, James Bourne and Matt Willis – have announced a 15-date run, kicking off in Plymouth on September 2 and wrapping in Manchester on September 24.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column, James, 39, said: “It’s out of this world that we get to do this and we couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s going to be wicked.”
Charlie and Matt both admitted they are 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.
Asked if he expected a reunion back then, Charlie, 37, said: “No. On that day I didn’t. I’m glad that we split up at the time because it allowed us to do this and come back together.”
The band reunited in 2015 and went on to release the albums ‘Night Driver’, in 2016, and 2019’s ‘Half Way There’.
Matt, 39, continued: “People have asked me, ‘Do you regret splitting up?’ And I don’t. It was s*** towards the end of Busted.
“It was a really bad vibe in the camp and it felt like the right time to stop that.
“Now it feels like how it’s meant to feel. It’s like the very beginning again. Right now it feels like it’s barely even begun.”
If a tour wasn’t enough, the ‘You Said No’ hitmakers have also revealed they are set to release an album of reworkings of their biggest hits featuring fellow noughties rock bands, such as McFly, Simple Plan and All Time Low.
The first re-worked track will be ‘Loser Kid’, which is set for release on April 14 and features pop punk legends Simple Plan.
James commented: “They just feel fresh and like they were written yesterday.”
Matt added: “This has reinvigorated everything and suddenly we’re making lots of plans.”
Tickets for the 20th anniversary tour go on general sale on March 31 at 9am. A presale takes place on March 29 at the same time.
Busted’s 2023 tour dates:
2nd Sept – Plymouth, Pavilions
3rd Sept – Cardiff International Arena
5th Sept – Swansea Arena
6th Sept – Bournemouth International Arena
7th Sept – The Brighton Centre
9th Sept – Birmingham Utilita Arena
10th Sept – The O2 London
12th Sept – Bridlington Spa
15th Sept – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
16th Sept – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
17th Sept – Leeds, First Direct Arena
19th Sept – Aberdeen, P+J Live
20th Sept – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
22nd Sept – Liverpool, M+S Bank Arena
24th Sept – Manchester, AO Arena