James Bourne
James Bourne | |
---|---|
synth pop | |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, bass, keytar, keyboard, piano, drums, percussion |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | Mercury, Sic Puppy |
Member of | Busted |
Formerly of | Son of Dork, McBusted |
Website | www |
James Elliot Bourne (born 13 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is known as the co-founder of pop-punk bands Busted and Son of Dork, and he also created his own electronic project under the alias Future Boy. From 2013 to 2015 he was a member of McBusted, which consisted of himself, Busted bandmate Matt Willis, and McFly.
Early life
Bourne was born in Rochford, Essex to Peter and Maria Bourne and moved to Southend-on-Sea[1] at age ten months. He has a sister named Melissa and two brothers named Nick and Chris.
He attended the independent fee-paying Thorpe Hall School in Southend-on-Sea.[2] Bourne plays electric guitar, piano, drums and bass guitar. He later attended Morgan Academy of Performing Arts, based in Essex.[3]
Music career
Busted
At the age of 17, Bourne dropped out of the
By the end of the band's career, they had managed eight top 10 singles and four number ones – "
On 10 November 2015 Busted announced their return as a band, featuring Simpson again. They also announced a 2016 nationwide tour,
Son of Dork
After Busted split in January 2005, Bourne formed a new pop rock band named Son of Dork. They released their first single, "
The band split in 2007 after Bourne had to dedicate his energy to an ongoing lawsuit for the rights to the Busted songs.
Future Boy
Following the split of Son of Dork, Bourne pursued a musical career as a solo artist under the name Future Boy. In June 2009, Bourne announced that he had begun recording his debut solo album; "not a rock album. It is 100% electronic."[9] Volume 1 was produced and mixed by Tommy Henriksen and Bourne at Henriksen's Anarchy Studio's in Nashville and Los Angeles. Side A of Volume 1 was released on 3 May 2010; the album was released via his official website and not a record label. Side B would be released on 3 June. Side B featured a further five songs, including a ballad with his then girlfriend Gabriela Arciero. As part of Valentine's Day, Future Boy posted a new track on Facebook called "Dangerous"; the song didn't make the final cut for Volume 1.
Although Volume 2 was officially announced in February 2011 for a 3 May 2012 release as a Facebook video game Space Travellers, the album has yet to surface due to technical difficulties and other commitments. Bourne confirmed in 2020 that the second album was 'mixed and mastered' but he would not be releasing it due to his commitment to his solo career.[10]
Solo projects
In 2012, Bourne did his debut solo acoustic tour across the UK. Dates included London,
On 31 December 2019, Bourne announced a new solo project but reassured Busted fans that the band was not splitting up, tweeting "After twenty amazing years making music, I am stepping into 2020 on a brand new solo adventure. Busted will always be my band. But, I’ve dreamed for years about releasing my own album so here we go."[5] His first album Safe Journey Home was self released in late 2020 on his own Bad Apple label.[11] Bourne announced a follow-up album, Sugar Beach, on his Twitter for a Summer 2021 release.[12]
McBusted
In 2013, Bourne supported for McFly, which was later referred to by the newly formed McBusted as the starting point for ideas of McFly and Busted joining as a contribution to the McFly tour, which then later sparked ideas of their own McBusted tour. McBusted released their self-titled debut album on 1 December 2014, with a large portion of the tracks written/co-written by Bourne. Some tracks on the album were from some of Bourne's previous musical projects like "What Happened To Your Band" that was originally written for Son of Dork and "Beautiful Girls Are The Loneliest" which was intended for his solo project. McBusted went on a 21 date tour in 2015 and performed songs from their new album as well as previous McFly and Busted hits.
Other projects
In early 2013, Bourne formed a band with his brother Chris Bourne called the Bourne Insanity. They independently released their first single "Mohawk" on 16 April, written solely by Chris. In late 2013, Bourne announced via Twitter that he had posted "secret" music under a different name on iTunes. The band was later revealed to be "88", which was Bourne and fellow musician Eric Bazilian. 88 released their first single, "Angels Walk Beside You", on 5 December 2013,[13] and on 8 February 2014 they released their second single "Miss the Girl".[14]
Songwriting
Bourne wrote the majority of Busted's two albums with Matt Willis, Charlie Simpson and Tom Fletcher (McFly). Busted's style of music can also be identified in Son of Dork's poppier songs. He explains that his solo writing process is very similar to the creative process of Busted, though things move "20% faster" when he writes on his own.[15]
Bourne has co-writing credits on the first four McFly albums – Room on the 3rd Floor, Wonderland, Motion in the Ocean and Radio:Active, contributing to the majority of the tracks on the former.
He is given writing credits for artists such as Melanie C for whom he wrote "Immune" for her fourth studio album This Time. Other artists Bourne has written for include MC Lars, with whom he wrote the song "Twenty-three" on the This Gigantic Robot Kills album, and Pat Monahan, with whom he co-wrote "Great Escape" on the album Last of Seven. Bourne has recently been writing with his girlfriend's band The Lunabelles and JC Chasez as well as unknown artists as a part of Metrophonic. He has also helped write songs for the British drama Britannia High. He also wrote Eoghan Quigg's debut solo single "28,000 Friends", which was originally performed by Bourne at The Living Room, New York on 11 October 2007.[16] He also co-wrote the Saturdays song, "Forever Is Over", which was released on 2 October and reached number two in the charts. Bourne has also written for Gabriella Cilmi.[17]
In November 2009, Bourne collaborated with
In 2014, Bourne was writing songs for supergroup McBusted, The Vamps and 5 Seconds of Summer. This includes the song "Daylight" by 5 Seconds of Summer which was cowritten with his brother Chris Bourne. Despite his prolific credits, Bourne says he much prefers writing for himself because he can be "more in tune" with his own songs.[19]
Musical theatre
Loserville: The Musical!
In February 2009,
Out There: The Musical
In 2011, Youth Music Theatre once again commissioned Bourne and Davis to write a new, original musical called Out There. First presented as a workshop presentation in a small theatre west of London, the musical is set in the fictional town of Hope, Texas, and follows the story of Logan Carter, who is on the run from his home town near Detroit after committing a minor felony. Hope is a dead-end, one-horse town (even the horse has died) and its inhabitants are searching for ways to rescue the town from obscurity and financial ruin. Meanwhile, a few miles away in the desert, an old man is building something weird in his outhouse.
In July 2012, the original Youth Music Theatre cast and crew reunited to put on several performances at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London, with new songs added. Prior to this, a funding page[23] was set up to allow them to perform and although they didn't reach their $15,000 goal they still went ahead with the shows.
The musical is available to have amateur and professional performances in schools and the stage through the Josef Weinbeger LTD.[24]
Murder at the Gates
In 2013, Bourne announced another musical he had been working on, Murder at the Gates. This time, the musical sees Bourne working with
Personal life
Bourne has a good relationship with the band members of McFly, especially Tom Fletcher, with whom he wrote several songs for both bands.[26]
Bourne owns an American skating and apparel company called SicPuppy, named after a band he was once a member of. Bourne paid over £16,000 for his own record company, SicPuppy Records, which, in 2007, gave unsigned bands a chance to play on the Sic Tour 2007 at Shepherd's Bush Empire. The event was hosted by David Gest and Matt Willis.
Bourne dated Instagram and YouTube influencer Emily Canham for five years. Emily announced their split in a video posted on her Emily Canham vlogs YouTube channel on July 25, 2023.[27]
Discography
Studio albums
As James Bourne
- Safe Journey Home (2020)
- Sugar Beach (2022)
as Future Boy
- Volume 1(2010)
with Busted
- Busted (2002)
- A Present for Everyone (2003)
- Busted (U.S. version) (2004)
- Night Driver (2016)
- Half Way There (2019)
with Son of Dork
- Welcome to Loserville (2005)
with McBusted
- McBusted (2014)
References
- ^ "Busted to return for a reunion tour with Southend Singer James Bourne – Southend Standard". Southend Standard | Echo News. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ King, Mel (14 November 2020). "The Essex school where Rachel Riley and a Busted singer were pupils". EssexLive. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Morgan Academy of Performing Arts. "About Us". morganacademy. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Busted | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- ^ a b Bourne, James [@JamesBourne] (31 December 2019). "After twenty amazing years making music, I am stepping into 2020 on a brand new solo adventure. Busted will always be my band. But, I've dreamed for years about releasing my own album so here we go" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Busted star James Bourne heads for Loserville". Bbc.co.uk. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ Bourne, James [@JamesBourne] (20 November 2020). "In the background I was being heavily sued in the high court of justice for the rights to all the @busted songs. I left the band to give my undivided attention to fighting this case which after 4 years I won. Then I started trying to bring my music career back to life. https://t.co/reUCIf827o" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Man In The Mirror Acoustic". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "MySpace blogs: James Bourne – ALBUM NEWS". MySpace. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ Bourne, James [@JamesBourne] (7 January 2020). "@stbrmda There is an entire second future boy album mixed and mastered which may come out in 2030 but I'm focused on myself now not future boy" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Safe Journey Home". Spotify. 27 November 2020.
- ^ Bourne, James [@JamesBourne] (20 February 2021). "Finalising tracklist for sugar beach. By far the best bunch of songs I've ever done. The hype is real .. for me at least 🤣" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "iTunes – Music – Angels Walk Beside You – Single by 88". iTunes. 5 December 2013.
- ^ "iTunes – Music – Miss the Girl – Single by 88". iTunes.
- ^ Falaris, Adrianna (28 August 2020). "Interview: James Bourne Talks Going Solo, Positive Messages, And 2020". The Honey POP. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "James Bourne performing 28,000 Friends a year before Eoghan". Youtube.com. Retrieved 1 November 2011.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Sean Smith (18 February 2022). "EP. 169 – James Bourne (Busted / Son Of Dork)". Spotify (Podcast). Sappenin' Podcast. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "Leon Thomas III- Please Don't Change Your Mind". YouTube. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ Falaris, Adrianna (28 August 2020). "Interview: James Bourne Talks Going Solo, Positive Messages, And 2020". The Honey POP. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "Loserville: The Musical (2009)". British Youth Music Theatre. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ "Official Loserville Musical website". Loservillemusical.tv. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ "Loserville posts early closing notices for 5 Jan 2013". London Theatre. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ "James Bourne and Elliot Davis commissioned for new musical; Out There". rockethub.com. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ "Out There, Josef Weinbeger". Josef-weinbeger.com. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "Murder at the Gates: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU". NYU. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ The Newsroom (13 November 2020). "Boy band McFly reveal 'All About Us' to their fans". www.newsletter.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Emily Canham (25 July 2023). "FINALLY seeing my KITCHEN renovation for the first time". www.YouTube.com. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ "TikTok star Emily Canham falls foul of UK ads watchdog". BBC News. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2023.