Busted stars open up about unlikely friendship with football legend Wayne Rooney

13 August 2023 , 01:16

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Busted stars open up about unlikely friendship with football legend Wayne Rooney

Chart topping band Busted have opened up about their past history with former English professional footballer Wayne Rooney.

The What I Go To School For hitmakers - aka James Bourne, 39, Matt Willis, 40, and Charlie Simpson, 38 - have an unlikely friendship with 37-year-old Wayne. The band were invited to the former Manchester United player’s 18th birthday back in the early noughties and they may reunite when Busted hit the road on tour next month.

The band have been together for 20 years and will release a new album featuring duet versions of old songs with iconic bands including Wheatus and Dashboard Confessional. They are also embarking on a 20th Anniversary & Greatest Hits Tour that kicks off in Portsmouth on September 2.

And while they are on the road, the boys hope to see Wayne in the audience. Discussing their history with the footballer with The Sun on Sunday, the lads recalled being invited to perform at Wayne’s 18th at Aintree Racecourse.

Busted are hitting the road with their 20th Anniversary & Greatest Hits Tour next month (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Warner Music)

James explained: “My brother was the biggest Everton fan. I took him with us and I didn’t tell him where we were going until we got there.”

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Matt said: “You could be normal with him. He wasn’t a ‘celeb’ kind of guy — he was like us, so he just wanted to party and have fun. He was a Premiership footballer so maybe he shouldn’t have partied so much, but it was a different time. We always liked hanging out with him. He was great.”

James also recalled: “Wayne came backstage when he was 18 — but I feel he likes hip-hop now.” While Charlie suggested the sportsman should attend one of the Busted reunion tour dates this year, saying: “We will invite him.”

The boys hope to see old friend Wayne Rooney at one of their gigs (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

While James, Matt and Charlie are excited to be hitting the road together again, they recently admitted to the Mirror that it was ‘awkward’ getting the band back together as they split in explosive style 18 years previously. They first reformed in 2015 and released their third album, and are now enjoying making music and getting ready to tour again. Admitting the initial reunion was a challenge, Charlie said: "The weirdness has gone, we've broken the ice," and 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. He said: "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 but I think it's better to do it in the correct way, just a bit later."

Mirror.co.uk