Matt Willis

Matt Willis (2006)

Matthew James Willis (born May 8, 1983 ) is a British singer and songwriter from Tooting (South London ) and member of the band Busted . His musical talent was discovered relatively late by his mother and he only attended a music school for a short time, as his family could not afford it. By chance, the band Busted later emerged, with whom he was able to record his greatest successes.

Time at Busted

Willis was, along with James Bourne and Charlie Simpson , bassist and singer for Busted. He wrote some of Busted's most successful songs, including a. What I Go To School For . Despite their immense success, both albums each sold over a million times in Great Britain alone, the band split on January 14, 2005. Busted were also very successful in Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany.

Willis spoke in public about the arguments that had raged in Busted during their final months. He also stated that these disputes were far exaggerated. Willis went to rehab voluntarily to cure a drinking problem he had been suffering from since 2005 after breaking up with Busted. However, he later noticed that his problem was not as bad as he had thought and so he left the clinic after two weeks. His comment was that he was too bored. He was picked up by his girlfriend, British MTV presenter Emma Griffiths.

From 2013 to 2015 he was a member of the supergroup McBusted .

Since the re-establishment of Busted in 2015, Willis has been part of the group again.

Solo career

In 2006 Willis started his solo career. He wrote some songs that he calls Stadium Pop / Punk. His favorite bands include blink-182 , Green Day , Foo Fighters and Madness .

On March 20, 2006, he made his debut appearance at Northumbria University in Newcastle as part of the UK MTV series Spanking New Music Week. He also supported his friends, the band McFly , on their tour at two concerts with the song Don't Stop Me Now , which was originally written by Queen .

Two of Willis' songs have appeared in films, Hey Kid in Stormbreaker and the American comedy Revenge Is Sexy (John Tucker Must Die). There were two different music videos, one for each movie.

His last single, Crash , was released in Great Britain on April 16, 2007 and is the theme song for the film Mr. Bean is on vacation . The single made it to number 31 in the English charts without a promotion. Rowan Atkinson , the star of the film, also appears in the video for Crash .

After several unofficial sources stated that Willis had been terminated from his Mercury Records label, he recently indicated that although he no longer worked with his label from now on, this was done on a friendly basis. He also recently announced that he will now attend to his upcoming wedding first and that it will therefore be a year before he is active in the music business again. He said that a solo career is far too stressful for him and that he would therefore form a new band.

I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!

In December 2006, Willis was crowned King of the Jungle by the British TV station ITV . He was recognized by viewers as the winner of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! ( I'm a star - get me out of here! ) Was chosen. He later noticed that he had lost over 12 kg in weight while in Australia. As tasks in the jungle he had to a. take a bungee jump from an airplane. He also had to eat kangaroo rectum, crocodile penis, crocodile eye, mealworms and giant caterpillars in order to earn a luxury meal for himself and the other participants.

Matt Willis live in London, Shepherd's Bush Empire

Also recorded in London

trip

In February 2007 Willis went on his first solo tour of the UK. He was supported by the band The Riverclub. The ten concerts took place in rather smaller concert halls, including the well-known Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. The tour dates:

Venue	date
Sheffield Leadmill	Friday February 16, 2007
Manchester Academy 2	Saturday 17th February 2007
Bristol Academy	Monday February 19, 2007
London Shepherd's Bush Empire	Wednesday February 21, 2007
Norwich UEA	Thursday February 22, 2007
Portsmouth pyramid	Saturday February 24, 2007
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall	Sunday February 25, 2007
Liverpool Carling Academy	Tuesday February 27, 2007
Newcastle University	Wednesday February 28, 2007
Glasgow ABC	Thursday March 1, 2007

Other projects

On February 14, 2007, Willis co-hosted the Brit Awards , one of the premier music awards. On March 21, he hosted the MTV hits night of the English MTV show Spanking new Music Tour 2007 live in Bristol with his girlfriend Emma Griffiths.

In 2007 and 2008 he hosted the respective seasons of the series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, which he won himself in 2007, with his fiancée, Emma Griffiths. This was followed by several appearances as moderators in various shows. He also devoted himself to an alternative music genre as a DJ in various large London clubs.

In the summer of 2008 he married his long-term friend Emma Griffiths and in June 2009 their first daughter was born. Towards the end of the year, the first album of his newly formed, as yet nameless band is due to be released.

In November 2011, Matt and Emma became parents to a son. Willis also played the character of Fiyero Tiggular in the musical Wicked - The Witches of Oz in London in 2012 .

Solo discography

• Albums
  • Don't Let It Go to Waste (2006)
• Singles:
  • Up All Night (2006)
  • Hey Kid (2006)
  • Don't Let It Go to Waste (2006)
  • Crash (2007)

Web links

Commons : Matt Willis  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• http://www.mattwillis.net - Official website (in English)
• http://www.myspace.com/mattwillisofficial
• Matt Willis in the Internet Movie Database (English)