busted

BUSTED’s Matt Willis has penned an emotional book about his life on and off the stage.

The musician says he hopes the project will help others who are currently battling addiction issues.

Speaking about Mending: Busted, Breaking and Getting Better, out on October 8, Matt said: “For a long time, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to tell this story, or even if I should.

“But over the last few years, I’ve realised that talking honestly about addiction, recovery, family and everything I’ve learned along the way might help someone else.

“This isn’t a book about having all the answers. I definitely don’t.

“It’s about learning that recovery isn’t a finish line, life doesn’t suddenly become perfect, and that we’re all still figuring things out as we go.

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“Writing it has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I honestly can’t wait for you to read it.”

Just four weeks before his marriage to Emma Willis in 2008, Matt checked into rehab, and despite a relapse in 2016, he’s now been sober for almost nine years.

He’s a brave man, and I’m looking forward to reading his book.

WANT A BLUE PETER BADGE LIKE HARRY? YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK

HARRY STYLES said it was one of his proudest achievements when he was given a Gold Blue Peter Badge to mark his record-breaking run of 12 shows at Wembley .

But I can reveal that the Beeb has now resorted to giving the famous accolade away on freebie websites in a desperate bid to keep the younger generation tuning in.

Once a prized possession, Blue Peter badges used to be given out strictly on merit.

However, an online listing reads: “The BBC are giving away free Blue Peter badges to anyone aged between five and 15.

“The badge allows you to gain free entry to over 200 attractions. Just send Blue Peter a letter explaining why you’d like one. That’s all.”

I understand it’s a sign of the times, but it seems a bit bleak to give it away for next to nothing.

BRITAIN’S Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas joined American legend Gloria Gaynor for an unlikely collaboration on her 1979 hit I Will Survive at Boogie- town Festival in Surrey at the weekend.

Sydnie said: “I didn’t want it to end. Her love and passion consumes you.

“In that moment, nothing else mattered but the love of music.”

PUB MICK: IT’S CRAWL OVER NOW

SIR MICK JAGGER has revealed how he ended up singing in a pub in Oxford last month.

The global rock icon, whose band The Rolling Stones are on course for their 15th No1 album on Friday with Foreign Tongues, joined an Irish folk group at The Half Moon pub where he sang Handsome Molly with them.

Explaining how it happened, he told the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast: “I had dinner at an Oxford college and then one of the students who I was talking with said, ‘I play mandolin. I’m going down the road to play with an Irish band. Do you want to come?’.

“I said, ‘Sure’, and I took a couple of people I was with and the provost of the college, who took his gown off.

“The band was doing fiddle pieces and the guy joined in with his mandolin, but no one was singing so I thought, ‘Well, here’s an opening. This is my chance for pub crawl singing’.”

I don’t think you’ll ever have to revert to that, Mick.

Kerry’s all gold

KERRY WASHINGTON was going for gold as she hit the red carpet.

The actress wore this quirky metallic gown at the opening of stage production The Whoopi Monologues in New York.

Things really are going swimmingly for US star Kerry, who appears in the show penned by Sister Act’s Whoopi Goldberg.

The one-woman comedy turn debuted on Broadway in 1984, starring Whoopi herself, pictured with Kerry at the opening.

Speaking on US TV’s The View about the original hit, Kerry said: “Whoopi has been such a groundbreaker – a trailblazer and an inspiration for so many of us.

“Throughout my career, this show became a bonding place with other actresses. I would meet them and we would talk about how it impacted us and our idea of what was possible.”

SET FOR A MAIDEN VOYAGE

IRON MAIDEN have sold a stake in their publishing and master music rights, name and image to the Pophouse Entertainment company run by Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, with massive plans to expand their legacy.

The big-money deal with Bruce Dickinson and the group was announced yesterday and comes after the firm partnered with other acts including Tina Turner and Kiss.

It will mean the band can pursue new creative ventures, including the filming of their Run For Your Lives tour for a “major cinematic project” as well as “developing a digital universe centered around” their mascot Eddie.

It’s exciting news for fans of the band, given Pophouse is the founding investor in Abba Voyage.

Perhaps Iron Maiden will be returning to a stage, in digital form, soon.

Kim’s heart is racing

KIM KARDASHIAN and Lewis Hamilton’s romance is motoring.

She shared this cute selfie with the F1 legend and her daughter Chicago, taken on a family getaway to Idaho.

Kim captioned the post on Instagram: “Summers at the lake with my favourite people.”

I first revealed in February that Lewis and Kim were dating, before they were pictured at the Super Bowl.

Since then, they’ve jetted all over the world on a series of dates, with Kim recently supporting her man at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Judging by the smile on her daughter’s face, Kim isn’t the only one who’s been won over by Lewis.

JAMES Bourne is made of sterner stuff. The Busted rocker stepped back from the public eye in September after falling ill and ten weeks ago told his fans was awaiting major surgery to extend his life.

And now, James tells me he’s used his time to finish a project which has been 13 years in the offing – and on July 1 will release new album Murder At The Gates, which he created for a brand new musical with legendary American playwright Steven Sater.

“I didn’t want my health to stop me from promoting this project because I’ve put 13 years of my life into it,” James tells me from his home in the UK.

“There was a fear of not finishing it. But I knew I had to finish it and give this to the people. “There’s like a few people that have been waiting for it. There are hardcore fans who show to up for everything – and I have been speaking about this for a long time.

“It feels so good to now have this as a finished product. And it’s the first album I’ve ever produced. So I’m proud of it.”

James, who has racked up eight top ten singles including four No1s with Busted, pulled out of the McFly V Busted tour last September citing his health.

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But rather than wallowing, James threw himself into the 13-track album – which features big name screen stars, including Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo, on vocals.

“This album definitely has a different feeling to all the others,” James explains.

“With everything going on with my health, I have been given the gift of time.

“I was given a lot of time back when I wasn’t touring. It was like turning a negative into a positive. It was such a shame to have to drop out from the tour, because I love touring so much.

“But  you have to turn negative into positive. They’re the conversations I’ve had with my closest friends.

“I wanted to take the time I’d been given and deliver this album.”

James’s last musical, Loserville, earned an Olivier nomination back in 2013 and when he was tapped up by Steven, who earned a Grammy and a Tony award for his cult-hit musical Spring Awakening, he jumped at the chance to get involved.

“Musicals are a very difficult thing to do well and to do properly and to develop properly,” James explains.

“And this one’s been developed on the highest level with the most talented people.

“Steven was looking for a composer and that is when Loserville was in the West End.

“He invited me to his place and I knew immediately how I would do it.

“I’d never done a project where someone else did the words because he’s a lyricist.

“But as I was reading the lyrics, I could hear the music. And we partnered on the project.

“To work on this with someone on Steven’s level has been a dream.”

Of the score he’s created, James adds: “I knew I wanted it to be a very solid piano vocal score to begin with and I knew I wanted it to be orchestral but with a rock band at the heart of it.

“But I don’t think it is a rock musical in the way that rock musicals are presented.

“Rock musicals like We Will Rock You or Rock of Ages tend to veer more towards classic rock and this isn’t what Murder At The Gates is.

“I think a big part of what sold Steven’s show Spring Awakening so well was how contemporary the score was.

“The music is very customised. This is tailormade for Steven’s words and the world that he imagined and the characters that he imagined

“The score had to represent that world, you know.”

James adds: “We wrote about 50 songs for the show and whittled it down to 13.

“Some are old, some have been rewritten, some are completely new.

“It’s a long process that you can’t complete unless there’s a lot of passion involved.

“With songwriting in the pop world, you can blag it. Go into the room with a producer you’ve never met before and come out with something amazing.

“But if you don’t get anything great, you’ve not lost much. With a project like this, it’s a life commitment.”

James admits all of his spare time since 2013 has been dedicated to this project, with him missing dates on the McBusted tours with One Direction in 2014 and 2015 to get his teeth into it.

After stepping back from their tour last September, James was able to focus fully on getting the project finished – and spent time flying from his home in the US to New York to record the tracks.

“We’ve got amazing people like Gaten on board, he was definitely one of the top people on our list,” James explains.

“It was a total cherry picking situation. Steven has so much recognition from Spring Awakening – he’s like a rock star in his own right. He is a genius.

“All of the people who sang on it were busy, many of them were on Broadway so I would fly to New York for each vocal.”

And like all the best projects, James had kept his cards close to his chest – with not even his Busted bandmates Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson hearing the finished product.

“They might have heard something a very long time ago when we were doing promo for one of our tours,” James explains. “But apart from that, I haven’t played it for anyone.

“Even the actors who have done workshops with us over the past decade haven’t heard it.”

Once the record is released, Steven will get to work with James in getting the production green lit.

And James admits he is excited to see what comes of the project.

“We don’t have an opening night yet for the show but we’ve got the album and we’re saying, ‘This is a great representative of what the show is,’”James explains.

“There are still some bonus tracks to come later on. I’m just incredibly proud of it.

“When you do these projects, you strive to create things that can be timeless in a way.

“Classic musicals go on for years and years, and we’ve definitely been really striving to create something amazing.

“When I make albums with Busted, you’re making music for yourself to perform.

“With a project like this, you’re giving something to the community. This show is original, memorable and I don’t think there’s another show like it.

“I just can’t wait for people to hear it, then see it.”

BUSTED star James Bourne has become centre to quite the mystery as it’s been revealed his Instagram account has disappeared.

This comes just six months after he pulled out of the band’s huge tour with a serious illness.

When fans click through to scroll his profile, it’s completely gone.

It shows a blank white page with the words, “Sorry this page isn’t available.

“The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”

This message usually pops up when Instagram has removed the account or the account holder has deleted their page.

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James pulled out of the group’s tour alongside their pals McFly last September, just hours before they were due on stage.

The 42-year-old confessed he would not be tearing up the stage with the rest of his band –  Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis.

He cited the reason for pulling out as “health” problems and said he “hoped to come back further down the line”.

James said in his statement: “The VS tour kicks off tomorrow night in Birmingham and as excited as I’ve been all year for this tour to begin, I’m really sorry to say that over the last 8 days it has become clear that I am not in good enough health to play these shows.

“There’s a lot of information I still don’t have about my condition but my bandmates, management and I are unanimous in deciding that I should focus on medical stuff for now.”

None of the boys wanted to let fans down and so they decided to push ahead with a replacement on guitar.

Bassist Matt told the Birmingham crowd: “You may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight. James Bourne is really f***ing sick and we love him and we miss him.

“This is the first show we’ve ever played without him and it’s really weird but we’re going to do the best we can.

“This happened really fast, y’know, health is wealth.”

The remaining Busted stars explained to their fans that they’d asked James if they should continue and he agreed saying, “you totally should.”

Back in April James opened up to Busted fans, sharing he was having a major surgery in the hopes it would extend his life expectancy.

“Hopefully [the surgery will] make me well enough to come back to what I love the most which is touring and making music. It really sucks to be out of the game,” admitted James on his Instagram story.

The singer, who shot to fame when Busted arrived on the pop scene in 2002 with What I Go To School For, is yet to reveal what illness he is battling.

Busted confirmed their split in an emotional press conference on January 13, 2005.

However they thrilled fans when they got back together ten years later, and have been going strong ever since.

The group have continued to rack up hit after hit.