BOYBAND favourites Busted are heading to the North East this summer to headline an outdoor concert.

Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis and James Bourne will take to the stage at Bents Park, South Shields on Sunday, July 16, in the second of this year’s Sunday Concerts held as part of the South Tyneside Festival.

And fans wanting to guarantee entry to the gig are being urged to snap-up one of a limited number of special advance tickets to ensure they don’t miss out.

Priority Access Tickets have been introduced for the first time this year following the success of last year’s concerts. They are priced at £5 each and will ensure entry to the show they are purchased for, as well as allow priority access to the park.

Admission remains free for anyone not wishing to buy a Priority Access Ticket, but will be subject to availability on the day.

Famed for hits including Air Hostess, What I Go to School For, Crashed the Wedding and Year 3000, the double Brit-winning pop-rock trio returned to the spotlight last year following an 11-year break.

Following their success in the early 2000s, the band went their separate ways in January 2005. Simpson worked with his other band, Fightstar, before going on to record as a solo artist while Willis became a respected TV personality and musical theatre actor.

He and Bourne tried unsuccessfully to get Simpson back on board for a reunion, and in 2013 the pair teamed-up with McFly to form McBusted.

After a year of touring as a superband, Simpson had a change of heart in 2015 and re-joined. Last year they released their third album Night Driver and returned with single On What you’re On, as well as enjoying a UK tour.

“We can’t wait to come to South Shields this summer to headline this exciting event,” said Busted. “We always get a fantastic reception whenever we play the North East and we can’t wait to come back and entertain the people of South Tyneside.”

Busted will be joined at Bents Park by local acts The Understudies, Call on Sunday and Sonny.

The Sunday Concert series, sponsored by Port of Tyne, Colmans Seafood Temple, Town Centre Automobiles and Little Haven Hotel, is one of the most popular elements in the annual South Tyneside Festival and regularly attracts tens of thousands of visitors from across the region and further afield.

  • Priority Access Tickets for the Busted show are available to buy now from Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/southtynesidefestival or by calling 0844 844 0444. They can also be purchased over the counter at Shop @ The Word in Market Place, South Shields.
  • For more information and full listings visit: http://www.southtynesidefestival.co.uk