Matt Willis has revealed Charlie Simpson asked Busted not to go ahead with McBusted because he was considering returning.
Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X this morning, Matt shared a previously unheard story about the band’s reunion after almost nine years apart, including an unusual description of Charlie as “Voldemort”.
Matt explained that while he and James Bourne remained best friends throughout Busted’s time apart, Charlie was largely absent from their lives, saying he was “kind of like Voldemort, he who shall not be named, for about 9 years”.
The singer said Charlie eventually returned to their lives and revealed that his comeback almost happened before McBusted had properly got started.
Matt explained that James had been speaking to Charlie when the idea of McBusted was developing, with Simpson getting in touch after hearing what was happening.
He told Chris Moyles: “Charlie got in touch and was like, ‘don’t do that because I might want to be coming back.’”
Matt admitted that the timing created a difficult situation because the McBusted plans were already moving forward, adding: “We’re doing it now. We’ve booked a tour!”
Despite that, Matt said the door was left open for Charlie to return, eventually leading to a meeting at the former Busted bandmate’s home after they had not seen each other for around eight or nine years.
Describing the reunion as “very weird”, Matt said there was an element of tension as the former bandmates worked out where they stood with each other after such a long separation.
Asked by Dominic Byrne whether Charlie had been nervous about the meeting, Matt agreed before describing the situation as “a bit like of a power battle”.
He explained: “Who holds the power here? I think we all kind of do.”
Moyles then joked that James Bourne was the one who held the power, prompting Matt to agree: “It’s always James Bourne!”
However, the awkwardness did not last, with Matt saying the meeting quickly became much more comfortable.
He added: “But after an hour it was great. It was all good.”
The comments give a fresh insight into the circumstances surrounding Busted’s return, revealing that Simpson had already been considering coming back just as McBusted was taking shape.
Matt also admitted that his description of Charlie as Voldemort was something he had never previously said publicly, telling Moyles: “I don’t think I’ve ever said that before actually.”
Watch the interview on YouTube.