Former Busted star Charlie Simpson talks about his solo album ahead of gig at Wrexham Central Station

Aug 4 2011 Chester Chronicle

From pop-punk to hard rock and now melancholic folk, Charlie Simpson has covered them all. The former Busted and Fightstar man talks about going it alone and why his new sound is merely another side to his personality, not a rapid departure

It’s hard to believe Charlie Simpson is just 26. Not that he looks older than that, but it’s difficult to remember a time when he wasn’t famous.

It’s almost 10 years since he, along with his Busted bandmates Matt Willis and James Bourne, emerged with What I Go To School For, their rather disposable, infectiously catchy ode to a sexy schoolteacher.

Careers and genres have come and fizzled out in that time, and their tongue-in-cheek pop-punk belongs to a different, pre-Facebook, pre-download age.

Now, of course, Simpson plies his trade as an altogether more ‘serious musician’.

After breaking away from Busted – one senses he’s both embarrassed and proud of the school uniform-wearing trio – he lived out his rock dream in Fightstar, who, after playing festivals across the world and winning a clutch of awards, have been accepted into the sometimes cliquey rock community.

Three albums in as many years, however, have left Simpson and his Fightstar bandmates drained. A break was needed.

“I just didn’t have it in me to make another record or to write another Fightstar album,” he said.

“I felt so burned out, as did the other guys. We went from recording to touring without any time in between, and I wasn’t ready to do it again.”

Simpson, who hails from Woodbridge in Suffolk, says he’s always wanted to make a solo album, but has never had the time or the platform before.

“I always thought I’d like to make a record with harmonies and this vibe,” he said, referring to Young Pilgrim, his forthcoming solo debut. “I just didn’t think I would ever get to do it.

“I wrote songs like this when I was 16. I’ve always had this acoustic side to me, but when I was younger there was a naive element to my songwriting, which wouldn’t have worked so well. I’m ready now.

“I knew a record like this would have to be solo, though, that it would be better on my own. I had such a specific idea of what I wanted, I didn’t want to compromise by having other musicians involved.

“In a band you have the personalities of other people to take into account. In Fightstar that works perfectly, because that’s the music our collective personalities make. But what’s great about this record is that I was completely in control of everything. It’s very much a reflection of me as a person and solo artist, in the truest sense.”

Are we to believe that? Can listeners accept that an artist previously known for pogoing around in shorts, and later for writing anthemic rock, can suddenly pick up an acoustic guitar and start singing forlorn ballads? How do we know he’s not pretending?

“I don’t think I have to convince people it’s real,” he said. “Well, maybe not normal people anyway, probably just journalists!

“It’s something completely different, yes. And you have to ask if it and I am genuine, but I don’t think you can listen to this album and think anything else.

“You can hear Young Pilgrim is real. It’s not playing dress-up. It’s easy to see whether someone is doing something that’s not natural to them – music is transparent in that respect. I’ve never had that issue. This is me.”

There’s a distinctly melancholic theme running through many of Young Pilgrim’s songs. Part of that mood comes from the arrangements, which largely comprise Simpson’s bruised voice, acoustic guitar and piano here and there, with harmonies that bring to mind Mumford & Sons, The National, Bon Iver and one of Simpson’s songwriting heroes, Jackson Browne.

Parachutes, in particular, reads like one giant apology to a wronged lover.

“I don’t think it’s directly at someone,” said Simpson. “None of the songs on the album are, although I would agree they’re melancholic.

“The album is retrospective. Take a song like I Need A Friend Tonight, which comes at the first point in my life where I’m looking back and thinking how things have gone – things I’ve done well, things I’ve done badly.

“Some people are telling me it’s melancholic or sad, and maybe that’s true, but in no way is it depressing. It’s very much uplifting.

“I’m definitely going to make another Fightstar album, but I want to spend the next year making sure as many people hear this album as possible.

“I feel very content and confident in what I’m doing. That in itself makes me very happy.”

Charlie Simpson releases his debut solo album Young Pilgrim on August 15. He plays Central Station, Wrexham, on Monday, August 8. Call 01978 358780 or visit www.centralstationvenue.com.