Who's Busted?

They’re too cool for school and they know how to rock 'n' roll! Meet James, Matt and Charlie, aka Busted and watch the video to their new single 'What I Got To School For'.

James (18), Matt (19) and Charlie (17) of Busted left school as soon as they got signed and now they're back in the playground with their cheeky debut single all about a schoolboy crush on their teacher. Quiet at the back please!

So how did you meet each other?
Matt: I met James at a gig in Southend. I can't remember who we were watching because it was an unsigned bands night. I started talking to him and was impressed by the amount he knew about music. I wasn't thinking about starting a band with him but that's what happened.
James: Then about 11 months ago we put an ad in the NME for a new member, and Charlie got involved.
Charlie: I thought they were a pair of losers. Only joking. My audition was really tough because they made me spend the whole weekend with them at James's house. But we got some tracks written and got on really well.

So who writes your songs?
James: We all do together. If one of us writes something and one of the others doesn't like it then we bin the song. We've all got to be happy performing it.

Who are your influences?
Charlie: Deftones, Blink 182, but I also like some pop like N'Sync and Backstreet Boys.
Matt: I like a lot of old skool stuff like the Sex Pistols and the Clash, and I also like Blink 182.
James: Good pop like N'Sync. I'm looking forward to Justin Timberlake's solo album. I also listen to a lot of Michael Jackson and the Beach Boys.

How did you think of the name Busted?
James: Geri Halliwell thought it up for us. Seriously - she was presenting this MTV request show and a friend of ours rang in to say her friend's band Buster – that's what we were called at the time - were playing that night and could she wish us luck. But she heard it wrong and said 'Good luck to Busted who are playing tonight'. We thought Busted was better so we changed it.

You live together and work together. Do you go out together as well?
Matt: Yeah we're always going to see bands in places like Dingwalls in Camden and the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town.

Your debut single is 'What I Go To School For'. What did you you go to school for?
Charlie: I left last year at 15 to form the band, so I can't have liked it very much. I wasn't bad, I just didn't pay attention.
James: I don't know. I was at college when the band got signed but I wasn't really into it.
Matt: I wasn't into it either. I wasn't nasty, just naughty.

And is it true that you fancied all your female teachers like it says in the song?
Matt: I fancied my science teacher, she was a babe.
Charlie: Mine weren't great. But when you think about it if they were that good-looking they wouldn't be teachers, would they? They'd be models or something.

Were you surprised when Busted got signed so quickly?
James: Yeah, it's been like a rollercoaster ride. It happened so fast.
Matt: We weren't prepared for it at all.
Charlie: It was even quicker for me - I'd only just joined the band!

What have been the best and worst bits about being in a signed band so far?
Charlie: The video shoot was the most awesome thing ever. The studio was done up like a school and there were 200 extras jumping up and down on the stage.
James: The worst thing is the food we have to eat from motorway service stations when we're on the road. It's always sandwiches, Pot Noodles and burgers and it gets really boring.

Finally, who are your celebrity crushes?
Charlie: Britney Spears.
James: I like Britney too, but I can't say that now, so I'll say Cameron Diaz, especially in 'The Mask'.
Matt: I like the older woman - Meg Ryan and Lulu.