Busted: pop-punk band on being 'dad rockers', playing Lancaster's Highest Point Festival and collaborating with Wheatus, Simple Plan, and Dashboard Confessional

English band Busted - AKA James Bourne, Matt Willis, and Charlie Simpson - had five number-one singles, and sold out 50 UK arenas, including 11 Wembleys, before they split for 10 years in 2005.

Two decades have passed since their years as teenage rockers. But the love has not.

That could not have been clearer when Busted put on a stellar show at Highest Point Festival in Lancaster earlier this month, with fans singing every word to songs from their Greatest Hits 2.0 album.

Lead singer Charlie had promised "an absolute rip roar of a show" - their first in Lancaster - when we sat down with the band for a chat ahead of their headline gig. As the sun set in the stunning Williamson Park, the band delivered on that promise.

Bassist Matt said: "This is an extension of the last tour. It’s kind of like a Greatest Hits feel. And when you play a festival, you should give [people] what they want."

For the trio, 2023 not only marked their 20th anniversary but saw them collaborate on Greatest Hits 2.0 with some rock heavyweights, including Simple Plan on a reworking of Loser Kid, All Time Low on Crashed The Wedding and Neck Deep on Meet You There.

"It was cool, man," said Charlie.

"A lot of those bands grew up listening to Busted. We got them on the record because we’d heard they were fans, so it was nice to collaborate with bands we love."

Other famous faces from the emo and pop-punk scene appearing on the album include You Me At Six, Dashboard Confessional, Bowling For Soup, Wheatus, and McFly.

Matt said: "We did a track with Dashboard Confessional, and I was obsessed with them, and to hear Chris [Carrabba] sing one of our songs, and in the most Dashboard way you can imagine – he basically whispers it – that’s a real moment, and I listen to that again and again."

A highlight for James was singing with Wheatus’ Brendan B. Brown on Who’s David.

"I’ve been friends with him for quite a long time. And they’re playing Download with us on the same stage. We’re right next to each other."

Watching Busted perform at Highest Point - one of 20 festivals they’re playing this summer - it was as if no time had passed at all. Their performance was as strong and energetic as it was when they were teens.

So, what's it like returning to the band for Matt and Charlie, who now have children?

For Matt, "It’s harder now because you don’t want to be away from your family but it’s all we’ve ever done, so my kids are quite used to me going on tour, and they come with us.

"We’re so bored of tour buses but our kids are like, 'Please can we go on it?'

And, last year, “It was nice because my kids were playing and they jumped around and I saw them in the crowds loving it."

Matt jokes about being a "dad rocker". But perhaps it was in his blood all along given he adds he has always "danced like a dad".

"My daughter had a 14th birthday party and she had a playlist on and Busted was on it and then Blink 182. I was talking to one of her friends and I was like, 'Do you like this music?'

"And she went, 'Oh yeah, we love all this retro stuff.'"

Charlie reveals that his children are huge Busted fans.

"Being on the tour bus is one of my kids’ favourite things in the whole world. My sons wear Busted T-shirts more than any other clothing. It’s like to the point, 'Get out of the Busted T-shirt'.

"I’m sure that will change. When they hit 12, that will change."

We're curious to know how else the past 20 years has changed the trio as musicians.

"We’re in a different sort of headspace now than we were when we were teenagers,” said Charlie, “and there was a 10-year gap when we weren’t a band, so I think it was interesting coming back to it. A lot has changed in our lives, and we’ve been through a lot as separate people but then, on the other hand, when we get together the vibe is always kind of the same. So, yeah, we just keep writing stuff we love and hope the fans love it."

Talking of their music, James reveals one of their biggest hits, Year 3000, was inspired by the film Artificial Intelligence, particularly the scenes where New York is underwater and later becomes iced over.

"We used to watch a lot of films. This was 2001 or something. I think there was a lot of stuff back then that you see on television that inspire the lyrics. [It was] those years when you’re still at college, you haven’t got a job and you would like to do music but you have no money, so all you do is stay home and watch films. That comes out in our songs."

As to the future, we hear they're writing a new album.

"We’re not rushing it," said Matt.

"That’s the thing: we’ve always had a deadline. I don’t want to feel like that anymore. I just want to take our time, make a record where we love everything about it, and we’ve been lucky to be able to do that on the last couple of records, so we want to just keep writing and make sure that what we make is the best it possibly can be. So we’re not rushing it out, I don’t think it will be out this year, and we’re still writing it. We’re immersed in making everything as good as we can.

"But so far, it’s rad."