Busted admit reunion was 'weird' and 'awkward' after band's dramatic split

28 March 2023 , 13:59

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Busted admit reunion was 'weird' and 'awkward' after band's dramatic split

Busted are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a huge UK arena tour with Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis and James Bourne revealing that this time their comeback will be different after the "awkwardness" of reuniting in 2015.

In 2015, ten years after Charlie broke fans' hearts by quitting the band, Busted got back together for a tour and subsequently released a third studio album.

Eight years on from their initial reunion, the band are heading on a 15-show tour and releasing a new album featuring reworks of all their classic hits to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror, Charlie, Matt and James explained why this comeback tour is going to be different.

James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis addressed their split and subsequently getting back together (PA)

Matt began: "I don't think Busted fans have had this form us yet. They haven't had a real celebration of Busted, if you're a Busted fan you're gonna wanna see this."

The Masked Singer fans battle out Rhino theories in split between two popstars

James continued: "The whole Pigs Can Fly [tour] the whole moment was overshadowed by, 'Oh they're doing it, they're getting back together.'"

"The weirdness has gone, we've broken the ice," Charlie interjected before James added: "The awkwardness has gone and we get to come back for our 20th anniversary in the way we would like to do it."

James went on to explain why now feels like the perfect time to reunite and celebrate the band.

Busted are heading off on a 20th anniversary tour this year (WireImage)

"We were talking about doing it a certain way and I think we all agreed in the end that it was better to plan it properly, not rush it," he said. "That's why arguably we're a year late butI think it's better to be do it in the correct way, just a bit later."

Earlier this year, Charlie was unmasked as this year's winner of The Masked Singer after hiding his identity as Rhino.

Although the singer had fans guessing, Charlie revealed his Busted bandmates knew straight away that he was behind the mask.

Speaking about meeting Matt and James in Miami before he had been unmasked, he said: "I remember freaking out when I got off the plane. I was like, 'I don't know if they're gonna ask me. Should I say something?' And then just went a week went past and I was like, 'It's f*****g weird. And Matt was like, 'Should we address the Rhino in the room...'"

Charlie, Matt and James will be releasing reworks of their classic tracks featuring special guests including All Time Low and McFly. Loser Kid featuring Simple Plan will be the first and is set to be released on April 14th.

Tickets for the 20th anniversary tour are going on sale at 9am on March 31.

Charlotte McIntyre