Tom stayed with Dougie, trying to make him feel positive about the experience to come, and drove him to the Priory the next morning. They pulled up outside the north London centre. They walked up the steps of the yellow-stoned, double-pillared building and through the black front door together. Dougie remained calm as they checked in at the polished wooden reception desk. He was OK as he and Tom settled him into his room. It was pleasant enough: an armchair, a desk, a bed, and a window looking out onto the green lawns that surrounded the centre.
‘Then the time came for Tom to leave,’ Dougie remembered in Unsaid Things. ‘For me to be alone without my bandmates to support me. And it was only once he had driven away from my new home that the reality sank in: there wasn’t going to be a drink at the end of this day . . . It was, beyond question, the most scared I’d ever been.’
And there was only one person he knew who’d managed to face down that fear. Only one person among Dougie’s close friends that he knew had once been just as frightened and as scared as he was, sitting in his room at the Priory that February morning.
That person had defeated his demons.
Maybe he could help Dougie to do the same.
Matt and Dougie spoke every day on the phone while Dougie was in rehab. Dougie later said in Unsaid Things, ‘Just to talk to someone who’d been through it was a relief; just to know that someone else had experienced the same as me and come out the other end gave me the little bit of courage I needed to see it out.’
And his bandmates, as ever, were also with him every step of the way. They visited the Priory regularly and were always on the end of the phone if he needed them. And they were so proud of him when he completed the twenty-eight-day programme. Harry said to OK!, ‘It was really hard. He’s one of my best mates. He was fifteen when he joined the band and I looked after him a lot. I was really upset for him, but he’s turned his life around. He’s a credit to himself. He’s very mature for his age and – like Tom and Danny – he’s a very special person and very unique.’ Danny added on Fearne and McBusted, ‘He’s proved himself to be a very strong human being.’
And Dougie was proud of himself. He said to Fearne Cotton, ‘You don’t even realise how bad it is until you stop [taking drugs]. Man, it got really dark. I don’t know how much worse it could have gotten. I don’t really want to know. I’m thankful [rehab] happened when it did . . . It’s the most life-changing thing I think I’ve ever done. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.’
And for his fellow bandmate, Tom, going to the doctor was the best thing he’d ever done, too. After Dougie’s suggestion in their drunken chat before Christmas that McFly was over, Tom had taken a good hard look at himself and what he wanted – and really examined why, despite all his success, and all the dreams he’d made come true, he was still utterly miserable. Why was he sometimes able to be so creative and happy, and at others too depressed even to get out of bed?
He spoke about it to Fearne Cotton on Fearne and McBusted. ‘The thing that really made me go and get help was hearing about bipolar. I could recognise that . . . my ups and downs went in sync with our life as a band. When I heard about bipolar, that really struck a chord with me. [I thought,] That is exactly my life. That is exactly what I go through.’
He was prescribed medication to treat his condition, and he and his bandmates noticed an immediate improvement. Gone was the moody Tom, who might snap in rehearsals or be down on ideas. Tom said to Fearne, ‘Instantly [the medication helped]. Within the first few weeks. Harry was like, “You’ve got your laugh back.”
‘“What do you mean?” [I said.]
‘“You haven’t laughed like that in four years.”’
And with his laugh back, and his depression properly diagnosed, there was one person in particular that Tom wanted to thank. He’d written in the sleeve notes of Motion in the Ocean, ‘Giovanna, thanks for putting up with me . . . Thank you for always making me smile.’ He now had a very, very special plan to put the biggest smile in the world on his gorgeous girl’s face – and it involved his and Matt’s alma mater, the old school building of the Sylvia Young Theatre School, where he and Giovanna had first met all those years ago in assembly when they were just thirteen.
That was over a decade ago now. Sylvia Young had been running her school in the same place for a long time – but, just as Tom prepared to pop the question, he discovered that she had sold the building. It was being renovated and would soon be unrecognisable to its former students. Tom didn’t waste a moment. He gained access to the building, which had been stripped back to its original, dramatic church walls. It was a historic venue for a historic event in his life – the perfect setting. He lit atmospheric candles to compliment the imposing architecture, and then pressed play on the music he’d prepared. Giovanna had been lured to the spot by a producer friend of Tom’s. And she told the Mirror, ‘I got there, opened the door and could hear music playing and there were candles all down the stairs. My reaction was to shut the door! I was like, “Oh my God.”’
After asking Giovanna to marry him, Tom added to the Mirror, ‘It was amazing. We both cried. It was emotional – not just for getting engaged, but being in the place where we met, knowing it was the last time we would see it like this.’
Dougie, who’d moved in with the pair since coming out of rehab, was one of the first to congratulate them – in his own special way. As an engagement gift, he gave them novelty salt-and-pepper shakers in the shape of a penis, and a chocolate ‘edible anus’. Whether Matt Willis’s exploits on I’m a Celebrity were the inspiration for the latter was not revealed . . .
With Tom and Dougie back on an even keel, the band were stronger than ever, as they embarked on their first global stadium tour to promote Above the Noise, visiting Spain, Asia and South America as well as venues in the UK. They delayed the first few dates due to Dougie’s treatment, but, once they were away, nothing could hold them back – although things were a little different backstage to begin with, as Danny told Fearne Cotton. ‘At first, we didn’t drink in front of [Dougie]; we didn’t have drinks in the dressing rooms . . . We did what we felt was right.’
A camera crew followed them on the tour for the brilliantly titled documentary McFly on the Wall. And as Dougie giggled with his bandmates, and they all ribbed each other mercilessly and played practical jokes on one another, it seemed the good times were here to stay. After their wobbles before Christmas, the band were back together for good.
James and Matt’s attempts at a reunion, however, were still hanging in the balance. Matt said to the Daily Record, ‘I’ve been writing with James. It’s going really well. I don’t know if we are going to shop it to record companies, release it ourselves or go on a little tour, but it’s more of a passion project. Theatre is something I am doing career wise, but music never goes away, music is my passion.’
He continued to The Vault, ‘I love making music. I write music all the time – which is really annoying as I don’t really have an outlet for it. I don’t really want other people singing my songs.’ And Busted was still his first love; it was where he felt at home. Being a solo artist hadn’t been for him: elusive chart success aside, he hadn’t felt comfortable without his bandmates around him. Matt was a social creature, with a ready laugh and a quick wit; the lonely spotlight of the solo career didn’t suit him. Yet without a group, and without a career in pop music any more, his frustrated ambitions weren’t being realised any time soon. Reviving Busted felt like a pipe dream – but it didn’t stop him dreaming nonetheless. He explained, ‘I want to be back in that band. I love that band . . . I have looked into it. I have thought about it a few times and the thought is still in the back of my head; in fact it’s constantly there . . . I would genuinely love to play shows as Busted again. James is one of my best pals in the world and we speak to each other really regularly and, if we can sort ourselves out and sort our lives out, maybe we’ll do something.’
James, too, was keen on the idea, saying to FleckingRecords.co
.uk that, ‘It’s really unlikely I’d do another Son of Dork album. I’d rather work with Matt Willis again.’
But, for all the fans out there who were getting excited, James added to The Vault, ‘I would never begrudge the fans a reunion – but I don’t believe in us coming back [just the] two of us.’
It was Matt who summed up the result of all their discussions, with a conclusive statement to the Daily Record. It was bleak in its finality.
‘We’ll most probably never do Busted again.’
TWELVE
I’ll Be OK
‘Please welcome to the dance floor – dancing the cha-cha-cha – Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani!’
The inimitable voice of the Strictly Come Dancing announcer, Alan Dedicoat, boomed out in the Strictly studio on Saturday, 1 October 2011. As Maroon 5’s ‘Moves Like Jagger’ was played by Dave Arch and his orchestra, Harry executed one of the most nerve-racking things he’d ever done: performing a Latin dance number to 9 million viewers. Having to sing Busted’s ‘Year 3000’ with Danny in his scary McFly audition had nothing on this.
He’d been shaking beforehand, but the dance that he delivered was smooth, focused and more than competent. Head judge Len Goodman said afterwards, ‘All the way through I was thinking, Dirty Harry – make my day, punk. Do a good cha-cha-cha. And I tell you what . . . you did!’ Alesha Dixon agreed, saying, ‘Harry, I think you’re wasted behind the drums, you really look at home on the dance floor.’
Tom and Danny were in the studio audience to cheer him on and, along with the rest of the crowd, gave him a standing ovation. Harry said afterwards of his bandmates, ‘I hope I did them proud.’ Judging by their beaming grins at the camera and the thumbs-up Tom gave him, that was a given.
The opportunity to appear on Strictly had come up while McFly were on tour. The band weren’t strangers to reality TV shows. As well as seeing their close friend Matt Willis triumph on I’m a Celebrity, Harry’s girlfriend Izzy had got to the final of Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2008, with her string quartet Escala. And Danny himself had taken part in the first series of ITV’s Popstar to Operastar in 2010; the singer who had once said ‘Did you hear my voice?’ at the end of ‘5 Colours in Her Hair’ showcased just what an incredible voice it was. The boy from Bolton learned traditional Italian opera and performed it confidently week after week in front of his supportive bandmates and Georgia – and presenter Myleene Klass, Matt’s erstwhile jungle campmate.
It was a strange experience, especially performing without his beloved guitar. He said in anticipation on the show, ‘Take your best friends away from you; your instrument away from you, which is like losing a part of your body . . . I’m going to feel naked.’ He performed impressively though, particularly considering the band were recording Above the Noise at the same time. His ‘pop voice’ and ‘opera voice’ used different elements of his range, and he had to sing using a completely different method; in the end, he told the boys he couldn’t do anything in the studio until the TV show was over – it was too hard to switch between the two. He taught them a few things from his new repertoire, though: cue comedy opera solo from Dougie.
Danny was voted out two weeks from the final, but it was an experience he would never forget.
And Strictly Come Dancing looked to be the same for Harry. He certainly had a lot going for him. For a start, he was a professional drummer, so his rhythm was going to be beat-perfect. He had also been a stellar cricketer in his youth at Uppingham, playing for the first team at the age of fourteen and scoring 180 not out; and cricketers had a strong track record on Strictly: Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash had both won previous series thanks to their fancy footwork.
Above all, though, when Harry Judd set his mind to something, he really set his mind to it. In The Making of Radio:ACTIVE documentary, McFly’s producer Jason Perry said of him, ‘He’s very competitive . . . He wants to be the first and the best at everything.’
It was Alexander Graham Bell who once observed, ‘Preparation is the key to success.’ And Harry must have known the quote, for he knuckled down to his Strictly training with pure focus. He was already at the peak of physical health. As well as having given up alcohol, he’d been training hard for several years to keep himself in shape. He’d run the London Marathon in 2008, raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust – and his improved physique hadn’t gone unnoticed by his bandmates. Tom recalled in Unsaid Things, ‘I first noticed a difference in him while he was getting changed in his hotel room . . . Cut to ten minutes later, Dougie, Danny and I were all in his room doing press-ups like something out of The Benny Hill Show.’ That was, indeed, the start of a more active life for all the lads, and they started hiring personal trainers and getting in shape – something Matt Willis was also into in a big way.
Harry also had a secret weapon. Thanks to McFly’s close friendship with the Busted boys, he knew James’s ex, Kara Tointon, well; and she just happened to have won Strictly the year before with an array of show-stopping dances. He spoke to her and got a few insider tips.
He had actually done a one-off Strictly special himself, for Children in Need the previous autumn, versus Rochelle Wiseman from the Saturdays. Harry had won, dancing with Ola Jordan (even though he’d tried to persuade the producers to let him dance with Dougie). That experience did give him form, but it also meant that he and his new partner, redhead Aliona Vilani, weren’t allowed to start practising until just two weeks before that first cha-cha-cha performance. But come on, this was Harry Judd. Two weeks or not, he nailed it.
And then he was off on the rollercoaster ride that was Strictly. Twelve weeks. Fifteen dances. Seventeen stunning performances. All culminating in the Grand Final at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, watched by 13 million viewers – and Tom, Danny and Dougie. Danny commented during the show, ‘The first time we watched him, we cracked up laughing – and now we’re gobsmacked at how good he’s dancing.’ And Dougie added, ‘We’re very proud of Harry. It’s like when you have a kid and you see your kid playing football for the first time, you’re like, “That’s my boy.”’
And their boy was doing them proud. Harry looked like a matinée idol, sweeping Aliona off her feet into a series of heart-breakingly beautiful lifts throughout the final. Back in 2004, during the ‘5 Colours in Her Hair’ video, an eighteen-year-old Harry had appeared in the black-and-white segment dressed in a smart black suit to present a bouquet of coloured roses; his hair had been slicked back and he looked every inch a debonair heartthrob. That romantic boy was now all grown up. The final saw him perform a quickstep in traditional ballroom tails, and a gorgeous American smooth to ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’.
And it seemed the nation couldn’t help falling in love with him – especially when he and Aliona performed their jive-based show dance to ‘Great Balls of Fire’, which came complete with a Eurovision, Bucks Fizz-style disrobing from Harry mid-dance, and a drum solo. Judge Bruno Tonioli dubbed him ‘dancing royalty’, while Len paid homage to the setting by saying, ‘If you were a stick of Blackpool rock, you’d have talent written right through you.’
The nerve-racking moment came as host Bruce Forsyth prepared to announce the result. Harry had scored a whopping total of 156 points across his four dances that evening – including two perfect 40s – but the judges’ votes didn’t count tonight. It was all on the public vote.
Harry and Aliona, still dressed in the costumes from their Argentine tango, stood side by side with actress Chelsee Healey and her partner Pasha Kovalev to hear who had won; like Matt Willis before him, Harry had seen off third-placed Jason Donovan earlier in the night.
And now he saw off Chelsee too. Harry had triumphed. His bandmates, in typical McFly fashion, stormed the dance floor to congratulate him – scaring the bejesus out of Bruce. Danny leaped into Harry’s arms (slightly less gracefully than Aliona had done during the dances) before Tom and Dougie both ran onstage too, and they all enveloped their star drummer in a group hug. Tom later said to the Daily
Record, ‘I think Brucie thought we were streakers. We wanted to streak, but I don’t think the BBC would be too happy about that.’
The audience were pleased to see Dougie in particular, because, like Harry, he’d been busy that autumn winning the public’s hearts and votes by appearing on I’m a Celebrity. The jungle show was the only one he’d ever thought he might do, simply because of the attraction of the Australian wildlife. For lizard-mad Dougie, the idea of spending twenty-one days and nights in the open air with only creepy-crawlies (and fellow celebrities) for company was an appealing one. And so, on 13 November 2011, he’d found himself, just like Matt before him, heading to the jungle for the experience of his life.
Dougie had really admired Matt’s whole approach to the show. He said on I’m a Celebrity Hall of Fame, ‘Matt Willis was probably the best King [of the Jungle] there ever has been. I really felt like he actually enjoyed all the disgusting things he had to eat.’ And it wasn’t long before Dougie faced those dubious platters himself. Following in Matt’s footsteps – and mouthfuls – he ate ostrich anus and bush pig’s penis during a Bushtucker Trial, all washed down with a beverage of emu liver and accompanied by a side order of witchetty grubs. His time in the jungle saw him dress up in a kangaroo costume, be put in the stocks and have water thrown in his face, and – when he was ‘king’ of the camp – decree that the law of the land was that everyone had to be naked (a popular choice with the viewers back home). He also had to pen a song with his campmates for a round-the-fire singalong with Peter Andre: an easy task for songwriter extraordinaire Dougie. He later named his new ‘band’ the Leeches, so called ‘because we suck’. His old band hadn’t forgotten him either: as a reward for one of the tasks, the contestants were allowed a treat and, tongues placed firmly in their cheeks, McFly sent him a picture of Harry in his dancing costume as his ‘reward’.
Mcbusted : The Story of the World's Biggest Super Band (9781471140679) Page 14