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bustedupdatesuk-blog · 7 years ago

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FABULOUS MAGAZINE 2017.

'I WAS IN A DANGEROUS AND DARK PLACE' Busted’s Matt Willis, Charlie Simpson and James Bourne talk drugs, that bitter rift and putting the past behind them...

MATT Willis, Charlie Simpson and James Bourne are play-fighting and gently ribbing each other after spending a few days apart.

They’re swapping (unprintable) tales from their wilder days, after learning that the east London car park we’re shooting in doubles as an underground rave venue.

But before long, they’re sharing stories of their kids.

Matt, 33, is now a father of three and husband of TV host Emma, 40.

And Charlie, 31, beams about being a first-time dad to son Arlo, 18 months.

Meanwhile, James, 33, chats in a transatlantic twang about hanging out at the US home of legendary producer Quincy Jones.

Their easy camaraderie is a world away from their shock split over a decade ago when they were nearly fighting for real.

During a global press conference in 2005, Charlie suddenly announced he was quitting the band.

Within days, Matt and James further devastated their predominately teenage-girl fanbase when they declared they wouldn’t carry on as a duo.

It was a shocking end to a phenomenally successful two years for the pop-punk trio that saw them achieve four No.1 singles, sell over 5 million albums, scoop two Brit Awards and play 11 consecutive nights at Wembley.

In a bid for musical credibility – and to shake off his pop past – Charlie went on to front rock band Fightstar, racking up four Top 30 albums, and later forging a solo career.

He infamously dismissed Busted reunion rumours with quotes such as: “I want to make it unequivocally clear that I have no interest whatsoever in rejoining Busted and I never will,” and describing being in Busted as “like torture”. Ouch.

Instead, James and Matt teamed up with their McFly pals to form super-group McBusted in 2013. The six-piece clocked up two UK tours, supported One Direction twice and released a Top 20 album.

However, Busted are now well and truly back.

They’re riding high after the release of their third studio album Night Driver, which replaces their bubblegum pop-punk back catalogue with cool synth-lead tracks.

And after a double X Factor performance, they’ve now embarked on a UK tour.

We sit down with the guys to chat drug addiction, staying friends and putting the past behind them to bring Busted back from the dead.

MATT

Did you ever think Busted would get back together?

I’m such a different f**king person now compared to when I was 21. I was like: “Surely the other guys have changed as well?” There was a glimmer of hope.

Does this spell the end for McBusted?

I think so. McBusted was fun, but it wasn’t my band. It felt like I was on holiday with some mates, but there’s a certain point when you want to come home. We should have just kept it to one tour and then everything would have been perfect.

Unlike Charlie and James, you haven’t been out of the spotlight. How did you find life after Busted?

My debut single [Up All Night] did all right, but the second single [Hey Kid] didn’t do so well. I was told [by the record label]: “Unless you go on I’m A Celebrity! we’re not going to release your album.”

I was like: “I’ll f**king eat whatever you want to make the album come out.” But the album did nothing, so it didn’t really work. Winning launched me into a world I was unfamiliar with.

Suddenly everyone knew who I was and I was uncomfortable with that level of fame. It influenced decisions I made because people get in your ear telling you to do this and that, and you f**king say yes.

Was that a difficult time?

Yeah… I wasn’t really in a fit state of mind to be doing anything with my career. I was in a dangerous and very dark place in my life, so it was a bad time to be writing songs and putting records out.

You’ve been to rehab three times between 2005 and 2008 for drug and alcohol addiction. How do you look back on those days?

There were a couple more that no one knew about! I don’t recognise that guy any more.

It’s still something that I work on, and I think about sobriety every day. I can’t allow myself to go near anything that is a danger, so it’s constantly on my mind.

Now I don’t drink, take drugs or painkillers. I don’t take anything because I’ve learned that I don’t behave the same way as other people. If there’s anything you can take too far, I’ll take it too far.

How do you stay focused on your sobriety?

I have a morning routine. I say little things to myself or to whoever the f**k I’m talking to like: “Please keep me sober today.” Every single night I say thanks for keeping me sober today, and that’s something I’ve done for eight years. It makes me feel like I’ve achieved.

I’m 100% happy now – I couldn’t be happier if I tried – but I know if I put a drink inside of me then something changes in my chemical make-up and I become a different person.

Why do you think that is?

I’ve thought about it loads and it f**king drives me crazy! There’s this thing called ayahuasca, which is a hallucinogenic drink from the jungle. You go to the spirit world and can get answers to your questions. I was like: “I need to f**king do this,” and Emma was like: “Wait a sec, you want to go and take drugs to find out why you take drugs?”

You were friends with Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011. Do you worry it could have been you?

Completely. It’s a worrying thing. [Her death] plays on my mind.

How did Emma support you through that time?

She met me when I was a bit of a f**king tearaway. We went snowboarding in 2005 and I think that was the first time she was like: “F**king hell, this guy is out of control!” Then by March I was in rehab. She’s f**king amazing and stuck with me the whole time. I don’t know why.

It must have been a very difficult time for you both…

Of course, it was testing. There were times when we thought we couldn’t carry on any more. Unfortunately it was always down to me as it was always my s**t f**king it up. I’m so thankful to her because she really helped me through that, and now life is great.

Do you worry about your kids Isabelle, seven, Ace, five, and Trixie Grace, nine months, taking drugs when they’re older?

I’ve thought about that quite a lot. I don’t think there’s anything I can do. If they’re going to take drugs, they’re going to take drugs.

I can tell them why I think certain things are dangerous, but do I want them not to smoke weed at college and go to parties and have great times with their friends? I don’t know if I want to be that guy. I want them to live their lives and find out s**t for themselves.

How do you find being a dad of three?

It’s a bit full-on! My youngest is teething, so last night I had two-and-a-half-hours’ sleep in 45-minute chunks. But it’s f**king awesome and I love being a dad. My favourite thing in the world is a movie night with them.

Apparently Emma had to twist your arm to have a third child…

I think Emma freaked out. She was like: “I’m going to be 40 soon. If I don’t do it now I’m never going to be able to do it.” I remember being a bit like: “[Life] feels good right now. It will f**k it all up again, you know.” But I’m so glad we f**ked it all up again!

Do you think you’ll go for baby number four?

No! No more babies. We’re both 100% agreed.

You’ve been married for eight years. What’s your secret?

I have no idea. We’re still mates. Having a bit of time just to chat is a good thing. Once you have kids, that never happens – you’re constantly passing babies. We try to make time to be a couple and I love nothing more than hanging out with Emma. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?

CHARLIE

You were adamant you’d never rejoin Busted and once described being in the band as like torture…

I read a few of those [comments] back and was like: “Wow!” I’ll never regret saying those things because I genuinely meant them at the time. If you had said to me 10 years ago that I’d be back in Busted, I’d have said: “No f**king way,” and probably bet my house on it.

What changed for you?

Matt and James came round to my house in 2013 and expressed an interest in doing Busted again. It wasn’t something I wanted to do because I had my second solo record [Long Road Home] coming out. But the biggest thing was the way they talked about music, because we were polar opposites when Busted ended.

I started to think: “I wonder what it would be like if we got into a studio to write songs again?” and ticked it over for a year or two. It was very slow and gradual.

Are you happy with Busted’s new sound?

There are bound to be people who say it’s different, but I left the band because of musical differences, so it would be very strange 10 years later for me to be back making the same music. It’s an amazing journey because I had big issues trying to get away from the whole thing.

You appeared to rebel against your pop past…

I’ve never really talked about the depths of how much it got to me. My friends were saying: “You have to chill out!” The mountain I had to climb to get where I wanted to go made me resent Busted. Once I got there, I felt I’d achieved what I’d wanted to. That made me rethink my viewpoint and realise it’s all in my head. Seeing Matt and James reaffirmed that. It’s like I’ve been though a 10-year therapy session.

How bad did it get for you?

I remember people would come up to me in nightclubs and say: “You’re Charlie from Busted,” and I’d get visibly angry. My wife Anna said: “You’ve got to stop putting Busted in your head in a negative light because it’s really unhealthy.” It was driving me insane.

I put our Brit Awards in the cupboard as I didn’t want to look at them. Now I’ve put them in pride of place.

Did it affect your relationship with Matt and James?

They’ve always been amazing from start to finish, and our friendship was always intact, I think because I left when I did. If I hadn’t, it would have dragged on. I’m sorry if I ever upset them but I never meant to say anything in a derogatory sense.

You did effectively end their careers when you left Busted…

They didn’t want it to end and I was taking it away from them. For them to act in the way they did is absolute testament to their wonderful characters.

Did you ever have any guilt over it?

Definitely. I felt bad, but I was like: “This has to happen.” I think they understood my struggle and what I was doing was for the right reasons.

What was post-Busted life like for you?

I went into a world that hated Busted. Since I was five I’d dreamed of playing Reading Festival, and when I did [with Fightstar in 2005] we got s**t thrown at us and people telling us to f**k off. It was one of the hardest days of my life. The first two years were very difficult and I had to work my arse off to change perceptions.

JAMES

How did you feel when Charlie was asked about a Busted reunion and he said it wouldn’t happen in a million years?

I think people expect there to be this crazy rift between us because of the things he said. I know the reasons why [he said what he did] and understood those reasons. He knows that and we’ve never had an argument about it.

Did you struggle to adjust to normality after the split?

It was weird. It wasn’t a struggle but it was definitely an adjustment. When Busted ended, a lot of my friends were finishing university and in debt. My band had ended but it was an amazing springboard – I could go anywhere in the world and make whatever music I wanted with whoever I wanted to make it with.

It was sad, but at the same time I saw it as a massive opportunity. But before I did any of that I was in my apartment for probably a good few months solid just playing video games.

Did you become reclusive?

Yeah. Not in a weird way, but because that’s what I felt like doing. I was just spending time with myself and it was really enjoyable. I think I got really fat, ate lots of chocolate and played video games.

Were you financially stable enough that you didn’t have to worry?

I didn’t really understand at that age that my songs were going to help me the way they did. There were plenty of times when I’d run out of money and think “uh-oh” and then all of a sudden I’d get a royalty cheque.

As Busted’s main songwriter, did it make you a millionaire?

Um… I don’t really like talking about how much I’ve made. But I’ve been fortunate.

I don’t really value money that way. What’s important is that I value the freedom and happiness that success has given me.

Did you consider doing ITV2’s The Big Reunion?

I would never advise any band that has broken up to go down that road. I think they take advantage of fragile people and manipulate bands. They chased Matt and me to take part, but we wanted nothing to do with it.

After Busted, you moved to America and wrote songs for artists including Mel C and The Saturdays. What was life like there?

It was very refreshing. [British] record companies saw me as someone who had a past but not really a future. I was there for around seven to eight years and I didn’t have to listen to people bang on about how Busted were over. I sought out musicians who inspired me, including [songwriter] Siedah Garrett, who wrote Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror.

How does it feel for Busted to get a second chance?

Better than ever – like we’re riding the crest of a wave.

Busted’s album Night Driver is out now.

#jb interviews #cs interviews #mw interviews

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