Charlie Simpson has spoken to NME about his upcoming role in Jeff Wayne’s musical adaption of The War Of The Worlds, and shared how the future looks for Fightstar and Busted.
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The latest version of the production will head to UK arenas in spring 2025 and tell the story of H.G. Wells’ iconic 1898 sci-fi novel, in which an extraterrestrial race threatens humanity. Simpson has been announced for the role of The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist – the character for which is depicted on stage by Liam Neeson – while other names confirmed for the cast include Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds, The Wanted’s Max George and more.
“It all came together because Jeff Wayne called me and asked me to come to his studio so we could have a chat,” Simpson told NME. “I knew the story, of course, but I’d never seen the production. I remember when he said that he thought my voice would suit The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist it surprised me because I’ve never done anything like this before.”
He continued: “The prospect of doing it was nerve-wracking at first, but then it started to feel like an exciting new challenge. It’s a bit of a jump into the unknown, but I’m glad to be a part of the original sci-fi tale.
“This plot was something that had never been written before, pitting humanity against an alien race. It was ahead of its time then, and then Jeff’s 1978 album was hugely ahead of its time too. I wanted to be a part of that, and here we are!”
Charlie Simpson of Busted performs in 2023. CREDIT: Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns/Getty Images
Check out the full interview with Simpson below, where he also reflects on how the dystopian story draws parallels to the rise of artificial intelligence, and if fans can expect Busted and Fightstar to release new music in light of their respective anniversary shows.
NME: Hi Charlie. What made you say yes to this as your first major theatre role?
Charlie Simpson: “It sounds ridiculous, but it was partly because I enjoyed acting at school. I got a drama scholarship and did a lot of productions there, so it’s not as if I’ve never been on a theatre stage before. That wasn’t professional in any sense, but when it came to The War Of The Worlds, I looked back at those memories and thought ‘Well if I enjoyed it then, why wouldn’t I enjoy it now?’ Plus, the music in The War Of The Worlds has a very special part in history and culture. That album alone is amazing and has gone on to sell 16million copies. The story is so well-loved too.
“Back when I did The Masked Singer [in 2023], that felt alien as well, but I remember just questioning if my kids would enjoy it. Then, when I had such fun, it made me realise I can do things that are out of my comfort zone and have it be fine. That gave me a bit of confidence to take this on as a new challenge, but whether I do anything like this again… who knows!”
Do you see any parallels between the plot and the issues faced today?
“The overarching idea of humanity against an invading force has always been a really interesting one. For me, the parallel I draw the most to right now is how it relates to AI. The topic of artificial intelligence and the potential downfall of humans against AI sounds cliché, but there’s a reason why it’s a story that’s been told so many times before. I remember watching things like Terminator 2: Judgement Day as a kid, and I found it insane because it had us thinking ‘If computers were to get smart enough, this stuff really could happen.’
“Technology could start to take over the world… and it could happen gradually in plain sight. We are teaching machines to become potentially smarter than us, so I would definitely draw a parallel there.”
Rou Reynolds, who will also star in the production, recently shared a similar outlook with us, and explored how the plot mirrors the threats facing musicians and grassroots venues in 2024…
“That’s really interesting because Fightstar and Enter Shikari came out around the same time, and the music industry that we both entered into is completely different to what it is now. A lot of the art form has been lost and music has the danger of becoming fast fashion. It’s a quick point of entry and a quick point of exit, so I do wonder how much of a loyal fanbase can a band really build in that environment.
“With Fightstar for instance, our first record was a concept album, and it wouldn’t have been anywhere near the album it was had it not come with the artwork and inlays that we wanted people to read. When we played Wembley in March this year, it was amazing to see a fanbase that has stayed around while we’ve been on hiatus. You saw the passion in their eyes and how much the band meant to them.
“I don’t know how you can build that now within this fast market of music. It’s much harder for artists… and I don’t want to sound like a whinging old grandpa, but there is a challenge there. No, we haven’t faced a literal alien invasion yet, but there are things in our day-to-day that replicate that style of humans and feel like an invading force.”
Jeff Wayne’s ‘The War Of The Worlds’ stage production. CREDIT: Press
Has the rise of AI impacted your approach to songwriting at all?
“No. I think that AI in music is a different thing to artificial intelligence as a whole. AI writing music to me is nowhere near [good enough to be a concern]. Maybe one day it will be, but from what I’ve heard so far, it’s always so clearly AI. It can 100 per cent be used as a tool in the studio and, if you use it in that way, there is some great stuff coming out with it.
“Copying someone’s voice with it is kind of nuts, but I’m not worried about the songwriting aspect. I don’t think that a computer is ever going to be able to mimic the emotion of a human, that seems inconceivable to me. Some people are already freaking out about AI and how that’s going to impact the arts… but I don’t think we’re there yet. That’d be like trying to teach technology to recreate a soul or the things that we don’t understand about the human brain. We’re a long way away from that – I hope!
“For me, I think AI will have some incredible uses in life in general, but there are dangers. That’s what resonates about The War Of The Worlds. It is like an alien life force, really, but it’s not coming from space, it’s coming from us because we’re building it.”
Charlie Simpson of Busted performs in 2023. CREDIT: Luke Brennan/Getty Images
How does it feel to be taking on a role played by names like Wet Wet Wet’s Marti Pellow, Gary Barlow and Westlife’s Brian McFadden?
“Who’d have thought that I’d be following in Gazza’s footsteps! I actually saw Gary Barlow the other day. He gave me some of his Gary Barlow wine, which was very nice of him. I would say mainly for me though, it’s living up to Justin Hayward, who sang on the original album. That’s the person that I want to deliver for.”
READ MORE: Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds tells us about his acting debut in The War Of The Worlds
Could you see yourself putting music on hold and diving into acting headfirst?
“I can’t see that happening if I’m honest, but we’ll see. I’ll just take everything in my stride. I do need a good reason to do it tough, and it’ll always have to be musically grounded. For now though, I think this is just going to be a lot of fun. It’s a good cast to be working alongside, and that adds a bit more pressure, plus the show has its own fanbase. There are people who are coming to see it for the third or fourth time and are wondering what this cast can all bring to their roles, so I just need to deliver for the people that love the show.”
You’re also gearing up for a Busted tour with McFly in 2025. What can we expect from those shows?
“They’re going to be a different thing to ever before. Busted have just done a big tour for our 20th anniversary and we just got back from five weeks of international dates, but touring with McFly in this way is going to be a whole new situation.
“It’s going to be fun because we do have a genuine rivalry there but we also get on well as people, so it’s not going to run like a normal show. It’s not a straightforward co-headline and, I can’t really say too much, but it’s going to be an event rather than a concert.”
With both bands going head to head, is it safe to assume there isn’t a McBusted 2.0 on the way?
“No. Absolutely not. I wasn’t in the original version of that, and part of the reason why we thought about doing this tour is because it’s nice to separate the two bands again. There was a point where it all got clouded for a while, but Busted and McFly began as two separate entities and it’s nice to then have them back as separate entities.”
Busted storm the stage, during McFly’s 21st Birthday show, to announce a ‘Busted vs McFly’ tour. CREDIT: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
We’ve had a Fightstar reunion and Busted anniversary shows this year. Are there plans for new music too?
“There are! Busted are working on new music at the moment and we’ve just been out in LA doing some stuff. It’s a slow process, but we want the next record that Busted put out to be an important one. We don’t want to rush it. There’s a bunch of songs written already, and hopefully they’ll come out next year, maybe even the year after.”
How is the new material sounding so far?
“Varied. I guess that’s the point, that we’re trying different things. When we came back in 2016 we released ‘Night Driver’, which I loved and it is still my favourite Busted album. That was very different because it was an ‘80s-inspired record which didn’t really sound like Busted, but I loved it. Then we did a record after that called ‘Half Way There’, which was more of what Busted would have sounded had I not left the band. It was great to do that as well, but now we want to try something different again – we just haven’t quite landed on what that is yet.
“When I say the demos are varied, I mean that there’s a lot of different soundscapes going on. We did a bunch of stuff with Jordan Fish who used to be in Bring Me The Horizon, which was cool, but obviously that was more in the rock arena realm. For now, we just don’t want to rush it. Everyone has to get behind it and feel like it’s the right next move.”
Will fans hear any of this new material during the 2025 live shows?
“Possibly… That sounds like I’m trying to hide something, but in reality it’s because I don’t really know yet! I think there could be songs that we play on the tour, but I don’t want to say that because if we don’t then people will be like ‘Well why did you say you would?’ We could, and I would hope that we will, play at least one new song.”
And in terms of new Fightstar material?
“For Fightstar it’s a case of getting everyone into the same orbit. Doing that show this year was great because we got together and made a set that we wanted to celebrate the 20 years with. Committing to a full album is obviously a much bigger deal because it takes a lot more time. But I definitely want to do stuff with them again in the future, 100 per cent. I just don’t know when.”
Charlie Simpson will appear at arenas around the UK as part of Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds tour between March and April 2025. Visit here for tickets and more information.
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