In this day and age, we have a fascination with Boy Bands. But in recent years, the all singing, all dancing group of teenagers’ age has pretty much dried up, much to the relief of ‘proper’ music fans who want their musicians to actually PLAY instruments and write their own songs, regardless of age, as long as there is genuine raw talent there.

Enter Busted.

Busted are three very talented young men from the UK who have graced our charts in recent years with annoyingly catchy tunes and brilliantly funny, well acted videos, without the need of perfect harmonies and intricately timed dance-routines to keep us interested. Their major selling point is that they actually write and perform they’re own songs, and they’re all under 21 years old.

Their currently touring the US promoting their new release, ‘What I Go to School For’, which was a huge UK hit in 2002, and their British career has gone from strength to strength since. Also, the video was hysterical, as it showed all 3 boys with a crush on Miss Mackenzie, a teacher who was based on Matt’s real life high school teacher. Their current UK hit is ‘Air Hostess’ and I don’t think you’re too thick to realize who this is about! This is an equally brilliant tune with, once again, a great video to match.

If you haven’t picked up on them yet, give them a try and you won’t be disappointed. I’m not usually a fan of bands that are younger than me, a phrase I never imagined myself saying in my mid-twenties, but regardless of your age, you’ll find your foot-tapping along whether you want it to or not.

I recently had the privilege of interviewing them, and I found they’re answers very straight-forward and very honest and they’re true to the name of Busted. When asking them if they minded new ‘mini-bands’ popping up, such as new UK band McFly, who are on the same record label and under the same management (who, in my opinion, have pretty much the same style and sound yet without the originality) they didn’t answer, and I found this very professional, if a little frustrating as a writer!

They come across as the same people in real life as they are on TV, which is refreshing and interesting. Also, one of them has a slightly dodgy reputation as a boozer, and was given the nick-name ‘Beer Matt’ by our very own Sun columnist, Victoria Newton, a name Matt is only too happy to oblige to and is regularly pictured falling out of London nightclubs in ‘various shades of green’ (copyright V. Newton) and it’s good to see him having a good time and still managing to control a damn good pop/rock career.

Charlie Simpson, Mattie Jay and James Bourne, are Busted. And if you don’t hear about them, you’re missing out.

1. How are things going so far, in the US?
Cool, this is an awesome country.

2. Which songs/album are you releasing there?
What I go to school for / a combination album of our 2 UK ones.

3. Where in the States have you visited so far? Do you know where you'll be heading next?
LA, San Diego, Boston, Chicago (for 25 minutes) and New York.

4. How do reactions to you in different states compare?
It's hard to say how reactions differ, but the states can be very different.

5. Do you have a fan-base there yet? Do they compare to UK fans?
It is new, but growing. We seem to attract people once we play!

6. Which of you is the popular amongst the ladies?
Time will tell - Charlie is being modest!

7. Does it feel like you're going over old-ground, is it like starting your career all over again?
Oh yeah, but with a hot weather.

8. Matt, are they aware of your 'Beer-Matt' nickname and if so, has it going down well?! Or should I not mention that?!
Nah, it's cool, it's only a bit of fun!

9. You play your own instruments, which gives you an edge over most young bands. As you get older, where do you want your music career to go? Well you still be doing catchy tunes like 'Air Hostess' or will you aim for a more grown-up sound in say next five or ten years?
Busted is, what Busted is. So long as the fans like what we're doing.

10. Musically, who do you admire, and who would you compare yourselves to?
We wouldn't compare ourselves to them, but we all love The Beach Boys!!

Major thanks to the guys for giving this interview. Be sure to pick up a copy of 'A Present For Everyone' Busted's current album!