He is best known as one third of boy band Busted. But after watching his new musical open in the West End last night, James Bourne said he wants to become known as a serious composer.
The 29-year-old, pictured, who also co-wrote many of McFly’s hits, penned Loserville with Elliot Davis after a chance meeting on the communal tennis court of their block of flats in Friern Barnet.
He said: “Some people think that if you’re in a boy band when you’re younger that you get your moment of fame and then you leave.
“But I’m going to be writing music for the rest of my life. I want people to know that ... I am a composer and I’m not going to go on Big Brother next year.” The new production, at the Garrick Theatre, is set in an American high school in 1971 and was developed from songs from Bourne’s 2005 album with his second band, Son Of Dork. But the partnership may never have happened had it not been for the chance meeting on the tennis court.
Davis, 39, said: “He came over and he started hitting some balls. I knew who he was and I told him about me and my background in musical theatre.
“There are lots of shows in the West End that are juke box shows or based on movies. We thought there was a real space for some originality.”
They were joined at the opening night after show party at The National Café in Trafalgar Square by McFly’s Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd and Danny Jones.
