Busted Live: A Ticket for Everyone Review

Recorded in Manchester, this album is fundamentally a Busted greatest hits package over a lot of cheering. But what hits! There's no denying countless artists would kill for these bouncy tunes (Ronan springs to mind). Although it might be impossible to sweat credibility when (despite millions of sales, playing their own instruments and being able to cut it live) their record company insists on countless appearances on shows like Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow, they do have the energy to deliver for the young a taste of what music can really give people.

Busted are like a pubescent-sized taster for a life of indie enjoyment. You get an indication of how young the fans are when during "Sleeping With The Light On" the crowd sings along: it's as if the St. Winifred's School choir have waltzed onto the stage. Even when performing the ridiculous lyrics of "Year 3000" (Busted seem to be under the impression that the next millennium is in 100 years' time) they ooze teenage zeal.

The live element of this album is slightly staid: there's no improvisation in the songs; they sound exactly like the singles. However, with their swagger and confidence -and the fact they're obviously loving it - they manage to resist sounding like a contestant in a battle of the bands competition ("Teenage Kicks" excepted).

If this is a manifesto for pop, it gets my vote. Parents don't need to fear an adulthood of Céline Dion if their offspring are rocking out like this. What with Fountains Of Wayne singing about"Stacy's Mom" it'sdebatable whether Busted have to be as clean as they are; their fans certainly aren't. It'd be a shame if Matt, Charlie and James aren't given the freedom to stop plugging their Brit Awards between tunes and really show the fans what they can do.

But for now, if it ain't broke: it's Busted.