Twelve years on from their last visit, Busted returned to Sheffield with an unforgettable, hit-packed show on the fifth night of the massive UK reunion tour.

The aptly-named ‘Pigs Can Fly Tour’, named as such because until recently the likelihood of another Busted tour had been compared to pigs flying, had kicked off at Wembley Arena just under a week ago and having travelled via Glasgow and Newcastle, the Busted circus finally rolled into the steel city on Tuesday.

Fans of all ages flocked to the arena ready to re-live their youths with songs such as ‘Year 3000’ and ‘What I Go To School For’. But before they could do that, they were warmed up by two excellent support acts.

First up was Emma Blackery, whose four-song set included the title track of her upcoming EP ‘Sucks To Be You’, before American alternative six-piece ‘Wheatus’ got the audience’s voices warmed up in style with a singalong to their hit track ‘Teenage Dirtbag’.

However, there were only three people the thousands in attendance really wanted to see and, after a dramatic build-up on the screens, James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis popped up through the stage and received one of the biggest cheers the arena can have ever witnessed.

Newly-released ‘Coming Home’ kicked things off before the crowd burst into life with the performance of ‘Air Hostess’ – the first of nine top-three singles performed by Busted throughout the evening,

The stage setup itself was impressive, with huge lighting and big screens surrounding the ‘Pigsty’ where some lucky fans were able to watch the show from the back of the stage. There was also a ramp encircling the ‘OMFG zone’, which housed fans wanting to get a little closer to the action, and the band made use of every inch of the stage – heading down the ramp early on for a couple of tracks including ‘Falling For You’ before returning back to the main stage for the likes of ‘You Said No’ and ‘Dawson’s Geek’.

But one stage just wasn’t enough for Busted who, after a short interlude, were transported in crates through the arena to the ‘B stage’ in the centre of the venue. With James at the piano, the band performed number one single ‘Who’s David?’, ‘Meet You There’ – which they re-recorded at Abbey Road Studios shortly after reforming, as well as treating the crowd to a glimpse of the future with new track ‘Easy’.

The new album, expected for release in the Autumn, was again teased with ‘One of a Kind’, featuring James on his now-beloved keytar, once the band were welcomed back to the main stage by a thunderous solo from their touring drummer and YouTube star ‘Cobus’.

‘Sleeping With The Light On’ provided a highlight of the evening as the whole arena was lit up solely by the crowd. And as the night entered it’s second half, the hits came with more and more regularity – the likes of ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’, ‘Crashed The Wedding’ and ‘What I Go To School For’ among those performed before the band headed off stage.

But they weren’t quite finished with the adoring crowd yet and quickly returned for their encore, which began with ‘3am’ before the trio closed this memorable show on the perfect high with probably their most popular song, ‘Year 3000’.

It was a triumphant return to Sheffield for Busted and those in attendance will now just be hoping that it isn’t another twelve years before they’re back!

Emma Blackery: Sucks To Be You // Perfect // Look What You  Made Me Do // Let Me Be

Wheatus: A Little Respect // Fourteen // Lemonade // Leroy // Only You // Teenage Dirtbag

Busted: Coming Home //  Air Hostess // Falling For You // Everything I Knew // You Said No // That  Thing You Do // Dawson’s Geek // Who’s David // Easy // Meet You There // One Of A Kind // Thunderbirds Are Go // Sleeping With The Light On // Why // Crashed The Wedding // What I Go  To School For // 3AM // Year 3000

 

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