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Night Driver
Studio album by Busted
Released	25 November 2016 (2016-11-25)
Recorded	2015–2016
Studio	StrawBox, Los Angeles, California; The Terrarium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Genre	Synthpop alternative pop
Length	43:52
Label	East West
Producer	John Fields Alex Metric
Busted chronology
A Ticket for Everyone (2004) Night Driver (2016) Half Way There (2019)
Singles from Night Driver
"Coming Home" Released: 2 May 2016 "On What You're On" Released: 30 September 2016

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Digital Spy
Drowned in Sound
Evening Standard
The Guardian

Night Driver is the third studio album by English pop rock band Busted. It was released through East West Records on 25 November 2016, and is the band's first album of new material in thirteen years, following on from A Present for Everyone (2003). The album marked a notable shift in sound from their previous albums, incorporating synthpop and alternative pop elements. It received positive reviews from critics.

Background

In 2005, Busted broke up after Charlie Simpson quit the band largely due to creative differences, and to focus on post-hardcore band Fightstar. In the years that followed, Simpson and the other members of the band, James Bourne and Matt Willis, had various musical projects and ventures.

In 2013, it was announced that Bourne and Willis would be joining with the members of the band McFly to form the rock supergroup, McBusted. Prior to going on tour with the new group, Bourne and Willis visited Simpson to let him know of their plans to move forward with McBusted. The three continued to keep in contact and in 2015, after determining there was a creative common ground within the group following writing sessions in Philadelphia, it was announced that Busted would be reforming with the original lineup.

Originally titled What Doesn't Kill You, the album was revealed to called Night Driver on 9 September 2016.

"We had 100% control. We wrote and recorded the album without a record company," Simpson told Digital Spy. "We paid for it ourselves. We had no A&R guy coming in and being annoying - we just sat in a room and made a record. We then took it to the record company and they bought into that vision."

Willis has admitted he did not enjoy performing the song "Night Driver" live, stating "I hated playing that song because I had to play synth bass and it just bored the tits off me".

Recording

Simpson, Willis, and Bourne traveled to Los Angeles before and after their Pigs Can Fly arena tour and met with producer John Fields to begin writing and recording new material. They expressed in various interviews that there was no desire to continue the sound of their previous work, instead opting to have no expectations in the studio and find a new sound. Sessions took place at StrawBox in Los Angeles and The Terrarium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Alex Metric co-produced "On What You're On" and "Thinking of You", both of which were also mixed by Wez Clarke. Fields mixed the recordings with Paul David Hager, before the album was mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge in New York City. Much of the album was continually recorded without having demos and as a result, many first takes of vocals and instrumentation made the album.

The Japanese bonus-track "Beautiful Mess" was originally written in 2012 by James Bourne as a demo called "Gone" for his then new band Call Me When I'm 18. Prior to the Busted release, Bourne intended to release the song during his solo career. "One of a Kind" is another track from those sessions intended for the aforementioned solo project.

Promotion

On 9 September 2016, the band revealed that their third studio album would be called Night Driver, and that it would be released on 11 November 2016. Prior to the announcement, the first promotional single from the album, "Coming Home", was released on 3 May as a free download from the band's website.

Singles

On 18 September 2016, "On What You're On" was revealed as the first single from the album, with a release date of 30 September. A music video for the track was uploaded to the band's Vevo account on the same day.

On 9 February 2017, the band announced that the second single from the album would be "Thinking of You". Though a music video was planned, Bourne confirmed in November 2018 that it was scrapped. For its release as a single, the track was mixed by TAYST.

Promotional singles

On 18 October, the band announced that "Easy" would be released as an instant grat track at midnight on 21 October. Likewise, a video of the track, live at Pool Studios, was uploaded to the band's Vevo account on 20 October, along with an announcement that the album's release date had been pushed back to 25 November due to production delays.

On 8 November, the band announced that "One of a Kind" would be released at midnight on 11 November to those who pre-ordered the album.

On 18 November, the band premiered "Thinking of You" live during the Children in Need 2016 telethon in addition to performing "Year 3000".

Track listing

Credits per booklet.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.

Charts

Certifications

References

1. ^ Cragg, Michael (27 November 2016). "Busted - Night Driver review: 'hear Charlie Simpson roar '". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
2. ^ Collar, Matt. "Night Driver - Busted". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
3. "Night Driver - Busted Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
4. Corner, Lewis (24 November 2016). "Busted's comeback album Night Driver reviewed: a regenerated band moving forward". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
5. Hanratty, Dave. "Album Review: Busted - Night Driver". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
6. Paine, Andre (25 November 2016). "Busted - Night Driver review: 'a more sophisticated album'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
7. Reilly, Nicholas (9 September 2016). "Busted announce Night Driver, their first album in 13 years". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
8. Hingle, James (10 November 2015). "Charlie Simpson Rejoins Busted - Kerrang!". Kerrang.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
9. Nelson, Alex (10 November 2015). "Busted are back: Charlie Simpson on board for comeback tour and album". WOW247. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
10. "Busted announce comeback album 'Night Driver'". Nme.com. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
11. Corner, Lewis (23 November 2016). "Busted made everyone get their balls out when signing their new record deal". Digitalspy.com. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
12. Earp, Catherine (30 November 2018). "Busted reveal songs they'll never play live". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
13. White, Jack (30 November 2016). "Busted: "Year 5000? We don't think that would have gone down well"". Official Charts. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
14. ^ Night Driver (booklet). Busted. East West Records. 2016. 0190295937379.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. Bourne, James (11 August 2012). "Call me when I'm 18 - Gone (acoustic)". YouTube. Kwin Draws. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
16. "James Bourne - Gone (UNRELEASED SONG)". YouTube. Chiara V. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
17. "Call me when I'm 18 - Gone (acoustic)". YouTube. Kwin Draws. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
18. Corner, Lewis (8 September 2016). "Busted announce their first new album in 14 years - and it's called Night Driver". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
19. McGeorge, Alistair (3 May 2016). "Busted are BACK with first new song in 12 years as pigs fly for Charlie Simpson's return". Irish Mirror. MGN. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
20. EllieN (18 September 2016). "Busted Announce New Single 'On What You're On'". CelebMix. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
21. popscoop.org (9 February 2017). "Busted New Single 'Thinking of You'" – via Popscoop.
22. @JamesBourne (7 November 2018). "No longer happening. We've moved in a new direction. hence our new music video that is out any moment 🤘😉🤘" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
23. "Thinking of You (TAYST Remix)". Open.spotify.com. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
24. "Thinking of You (TAYST Remix) on BBC Music". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
25. Busted (21 October 2016). "Busted - Easy (Live at The Pool Studios)" – via YouTube.
26. BBC Children in Need (18 November 2016). "Busted perform 'Year 3000' and 'Thinking of you' - Children in Need 2016". YouTube.
27. ^ "Night Driver". CDJapan. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
28. Night Driver (Liner notes). Busted. Japan: Juno Music. 2016. p. 14. WPCR-17563.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
29. "Busted (3) - Night Driver Rerun". Discogs. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
30. "JenniferGDBC - User Uploads". YouTube. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
31. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 48, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
32. "Products - Night Driver". Oricon. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
34. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
35. "British album certifications – Busted – Night Driver". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

External links

• "Night Driver". iTunes. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.

• 2016 albums
• Busted (band) albums
• East West Records albums