Lock up yer daughters/sisters/pets! Busted are out on the razz..

OK guys! Admit it - you must get up to all sortsa madness in this job!
Matt: Yup! We do so much travelling that there are always tricks to be played in hotels!

Hmm. So what kinda hotel madness have you been up to, eh?
James: Oh loads! We all do stupid stuff. We'll move all the 'Do not disturb' signs cos we're bored! We'll take talbes into the hallway and block other people's doorways! We'll take the stones out the plant pots and throw them everywhere. And that's when we get asked to leave!

We're guessing that's not the only time you've been told off at a swank-type B&B..
Charlie: Yep, we've been told off for playing before! Me and James were writing a song at four in the morning, blasting out all these, 'Yeah yeah yeahs'. The manager yelled, 'Just shut up please!'

They wouldn't complain at a Travel Inn..
Charlie: But we stay in posh places! We were staying in the Dorchester recently and these rich, rich, stinky rich people there really looked down on us just cos we didn't dress posh enough!

What about you, Mattie?
Matt: I'm the worst! Sometimes in hotels you kinda forget that there are other people around. I'm quite a loud person anyway, but one night in Germany we went partying with Lee Blue. We got in such a state we were banned from the hotel. Can't imagine why! Only, it wasn't our hotel, it was Blue's! Poor Lee had to beg to be let back in! And even though it wasn't our hotel, they've banned not just Busted but the whole of Universal records!
Charlie: We've learned our lesson though - I threw up everywhere, even in Matt's bag. We overslept too and missed our flight. The record company went mental.

Doing mad things!

Bet you weren't feeling too clever the next day!
Matt: It was hideous. I couldn't find my jeans, shoes or socks for ages. I ended up going to the airport in bare feet, carrying this bag that stank of Charlie's sick. We didn't have a tour manager at the time so we just ran riot. I think after that they thought that we may need one!

We'd like to have seen that night out!
Matt: The funny thing is I had just bought a video camera and I've got the whole night on video - so ya might get to see it! There's a big gap of nothing happening and then it cuts to outside where it has all gone horribly wrong. There's Lee running around mad and Charlie with his trousers down. Charlie comes over to hug Lee and they are jumping up and down.

D'ya do loadsa stupid stuff that seems like a good idea at the time but, er, isn't?
Matt: All the time! I think everything is a fantastic idea when I'm in a party mood. I wake up some mornings and go 'I didn't do that! Oh yes, I did.'
James: You do some mad things!
Matt: (Grins). Once I thought it would be a great idea to steal this brass sculpture off some scaffolding. I climbed to the top, realised I was scared of heights and had to climb down again.

Heading for the top!

Blimey! No stage diving for you if ya hate heights!
Charlie: It's different with an audience, the adrenaline's going!
Matt: Something comes over me on stage that makes me go a bit crazy. At a gig recently there was this massive stand of speakers. In a part of the song where I don't have to play, I put the guitar on my back and climbed up to the top. I didn't realise how high it was.
James: Everyone was like, 'Blimey, Matt!' The speakers reached up to the second tier and the people on it were going crazy. Everyone expected him to jump!

Well, you do jump rather a lot..
Matt: Suddenly I got this urge to jump onto the stage for the start of Year 3000. But as I leapt, my legs got caught in my guitar strap and I fell into a little ball. That was the day before I woke up with a broken toe. Maybe that's why..

Ever indulged in any midnight skinny dipping in hotel pools?
James: That'd be nice, but I think most hotels have got wise to that one! They always close their pools by 10pm!
Matt: One of James' friends, Tom, has got a house with a heated indoor swimming pool! The pool house has to be three times bigger than my house! We used to all go out then take people back to Tom's house for a swim. I'd recommend the skinny dippy thing. I didn't do it, but girls did. I sat and watched!

Naughty! Tell us about the tour - what can we expect?
James: It's for people who like listening to the album. It's going to be a live music show. There's not gonna be any big fireworks or anything. Just us, playing live.
Charlie: Expect a musical show rather than a theatrical one. There won't be all that silly pop stuff like flying through the sky. I've got no time for that.
Matt: Yup, it's gonna be more Blur than Blue!

Mind ya banners!

Loadsa stage divin' and stuff then?
James: Dunno. We want our shows to be safe. We don't know what kinda people are gonna turn up so we don't wanna end up stage diving on to 10-year-old girls!

Right. Down to the real stuff, lads! Will ya be snoggin' the dancers?
James: Dancers? Don't be silly, we don't have dancers (hallejuiah!). It's gonna be like a rock band - like if you went to Avril Lavigne or New Found Glory.
Matt: But I might be looking for fit girls in the audience! I'm gonna have my own aftershow every night. Not the Busted aftershow, the Matt aftershow. Just for me and selected guests..

How should the gals grab yer attention?
Charlie: You do get some rude banners. If I see one I'll always try and point it out to the other two. The most bizarre thing I saw was when we played G.A.Y. a while ago. This girl pulled down her top and she had 'Charlie' written on her boobs!!
Matt: The best one I saw had all of our songs in a sentence. Like, 'Mattie, I'm not a Psycho Girl or a Loser Kid. You're What I Go To School For and I'll be with you till the Year 3000. I'm not Losing You to Britney!' I thought that was really good, all our song titles in a story!

Sleeping and singing!

So there are gonna be parties a-plenty, then?
James: I'm gonna love it cos we've got a tour bus to party on!
Matt: We have Oasis's tour bus. We'll probably find some of Liam's teeth on the floor!
Charlie: But James'll probably be asleep. He sleeps like a dog. He'll make himself a little blanket kennel and crawl in and sleep. Literally.

What'd ya do if we dared ya to flash yer bum on stage?
Charlie: I'd say no thanks. It's not really my kind of thing. The whole taking your clothes off charade. Moonies are different, they're quite funny. (Er..)

Which gig are you most looking forward to?
Matt: Most of our friends and families are coming to London, so that's the biggie for me.
Charlie: Manchester Apollo. Me and my mates went to see Korn there a couple of years ago. They said, 'We're gonna see you up on that stage one day!' And they will cos they're coming to the Manchester and Nottingham dates. My mum and dad are coming to the London dates too.

Do yer mates all know the words?
Charlie: I asked them when I saw them yesterday and they said they've got Busted posters everywhere. I'm sure they'll be singing along!

What are ya gonna take to keep ya sane on the road?
James: My phone!
Charlie: I always bring a pillow on long journeys. I can't really sleep in the car without one.

What about good luck charms?
Charlie: My ring. My ex-girlfriend Camilla gave it to me. She had one the same but she lost hers. I always wear it.
James: This necklace. Matt gave it to me before we got signed. I said I'd take it off when we got signed. When we got signed I said I'd take it off when we released a single, then when we released an album, then when we got a Number One. Maybe I'll take it off on the last night of the tour!