McBusted rock up to Kingston for Air Guitar signing

McBusted fans queued around the block for hours on Monday evening in order to meet the super group made up of the members of McFly and Busted.

McFly boys, Harry Judd, Danny Jones, Dougie Poytner and Tom Fletcher, and Busted boys Matt Willis and James Bourne, have had an action-packed year after two sold out arena tours, releasing a tour DVD and becoming fathers.

On the release of their debut single, Air Guitar, the band came to Kingston to do their first signing session at Banquet Records.

The River spoke to band member Matt Willis about his time with McBusted and the truth behind the Busted spilt.

“It was so cool when I heard it was in Kingston,” he said. “That’s my local town. Whenever I see my friends and family it will always be in Kingston.”

Although 10 years have passed since either band has been in Kingston for signings, their fans are still as dedicated as ever.

Over 1,000 fans bought tickets to meet their six-piece idols, making it the biggest signing the store has ever hosted.

Matt was surprised by how many people attended the signing and was shocked that it set a new record for the store, as the previous record holder was Rizzle Kicks in August 2013, which sold 600 tickets.

“I was really surprised by how many people turned up,” he said. “We nearly doubled the Rizzle Kicks record, it’s incredible.

“We signed for six hours. We did not even sign for everyone who turned up. We had to sign until the last person.

“It was a bloody long night, but we enjoyed it.”

Due to popular demand, Banquet Records added an additional signing slot so that all  of the 1,100 fans that bought tickets could see the band.

Some fans left in tears and others were shaking with excitement and shock after posing for a ‘selfie’ with their favourite band members and getting their deluxe edition of Air Guitar signed.

Willis, who originally enrolled at Kingston College before joining Busted, was kicked out after a day.

He said: “I wanted to be a hairdresser. I used to give head massages and get loads of tips of old horny women. I loved the attention.

“I was supposed to be there for three months, but I got fired after taking the afternoon off.”

The McBusted signing session comes after ex-Busted member, Charlie Simpson, performed an intimate gig at Banquet in September.

Willis is still in shock that Mark Hoppus, of American rock band Blink-182, features on the album track Hate Your Guts.

“It hasn’t properly sunk in if I’m honest,” Willis said. “We’ve all got different musical influences, but Blink 182 is one band that influences all of us.”

During the 2000’s, Busted found global success with hits such as What I Go To School For, but split up in 2005 as band member Charlie Simpson wanted to focus on his new band, Fightstar.

“It was a bit of a shit time,” he said. “I still speak to Charlie every now and again, he’s a good guy.”

The Busted boys joined McFly on stage for their 10^th anniversary gigs last November and announced the birth of super group McBusted.

“I loved it,” Willis said. “It was a win for me. I didn’t really know what to expect. It sounded like fun and before I knew it, it has gone f***ing nuts.”

Willis said it will be difficult for aspiring musicians at Kingston University to break into the music industry.

“I know friends whose life goal was to break their bands and it didn’t happen,” he said. “They spent 15 years in their band and then were back to square one.

“If there is something that you love as much as being in a band and you can do that for a job, do that.”

Despite being without Simpson, it has been an amazing year for the band, and with a sold out 2015 UK tour to look forward to, there is no doubt McBusted will still be around in the Year 3000.