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We review Busted as they perform their greatest hits at Dreamland in Margate

14:04, 24 August 2024

Is it weird to be in your 30s and still singing about going to school and dancing at the disco? Not if 6,000 other 30-somethings are doing it with you.

Noughties boyband Busted brought a huge crowd of millennials together for a night of pop-rock nostalgia as part of this year’s Margate Summer Series, hosted at the stunning outdoor venue, Dreamland.

Noughties pop-rock band Busted took to the stage at Dreamland as part of the Margate Summer Series. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
Noughties pop-rock band Busted took to the stage at Dreamland as part of the Margate Summer Series. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

It started with a warm-up from support acts SOAP and Noahfinnce, both used to performing in front of a sea of people.

Fans might recognise SOAP, who supported Busted on their nationwide arena tour last year, while Noahfinnce played to a sold-out crowd at Wembley Arena earlier this year with rock band Enter Shikari.

Self-proclaimed Busted fan Noahfinnce helped warm up the crowd. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
Self-proclaimed Busted fan Noahfinnce helped warm up the crowd. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

Both bands got the small pocket of diehard fanatics at the front jumping up and down, with a smattering of approving applause from the rest of the crowd who were mostly queueing for the bar, food or a ride on the Waltzers.

The lights went down and, after a deafening sing-along to Eminem’s Lose Yourself and Thunderstruck by AC/DC, Busted took to the stage.

Busted are still in demand, the 6,000-person crowd screaming as they came on stage proved that. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
Busted are still in demand, the 6,000-person crowd screaming as they came on stage proved that. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

From that moment, it was like being swept up in a wave tween hysteria all over again; although it’s been more than two decades since we first fell in love with Busted, it was as if they walked out to that same crowd of young, besotted, frenzied fans from all those years ago.

The members have all grown up - James Bourne is a songwriter living in America, Charlie Simpson became the frontman of rock band Fightstar and Matt Willis recently hosted the first series of Love is Blind UK on Netflix - but when they broke out into their opening number, Air Hostess, it became clear that this night wasn’t really about how far we’ve all come.

Guitarist James Bourne has written songs for McFly, Mel C and The Saturdays. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
Guitarist James Bourne has written songs for McFly, Mel C and The Saturdays. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

It was about looking back and reminiscing. Whether it’s first crushes, first gigs or first friendships, bands like Busted transport fans back to a time when life was perhaps simpler and, even though more than 20 years have passed, it’s fun to take a couple of hours and look back at those childhood memories.

Now, as for the guys on stage, they might be older but it certainly didn’t show. The trio leapt around the Scenic Stage with boundless energy and, in all honesty, are probably better singers and musicians now than they were back in the day. There’s an air of assured confidence to go alongside the silly jokes and poppy songs that feels like a more mature version of Busted.

The band has had plenty of success in recent years, but this gig was all about nostalgia. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
The band has had plenty of success in recent years, but this gig was all about nostalgia. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

But, lucky for us, they still played all the classics.

The set was hit after hit, from their debut single What I Go to School For - which Matt Willis admittedly forgot some of the words to, despite singing it since 2002 - to No.1 singles like You Said No and Crashed the Wedding.

Busted achieved four No. 1 UK singles before their split in 2005. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
Busted achieved four No. 1 UK singles before their split in 2005. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

It seems that there’s a real craving for bands from this era as fellow pop-rock boyband McFly, who were often found in the charts alongside Busted, are also currently touring.

Apparently, there’s a friendly rivalry between the two and bassist Matt urged the crowd to prove that Busted fans are better than McFly fans and that Busted is, in fact, the better band of the two.

The trio played a 15-song set of mostly old tunes, with one new single thrown into the mix. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
The trio played a 15-song set of mostly old tunes, with one new single thrown into the mix. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

The statement was greeted with a roar of approval, leaving the group grinning at each other before launching into their final number, the Back to the Future-inspired Year 3000.

It all ended with a final jump - an iconic move that the group has been doing since the early days - and a blast of lights and then, suddenly, it was all over.

The gig finished on one of the band’s biggest hits, Year 3000. Picture: Jasmine Marceau
The gig finished on one of the band’s biggest hits, Year 3000. Picture: Jasmine Marceau

Within just a few minutes we were all shuffling out of the venue and back to reality but, boy, was it fun to go back in time and pretend we were all kids again. Even if was just for an hour or two.

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