After enjoying the light-hearted ‘Crashed the Wedding’ much more than the angsty ‘You Said No’, I’m sad to find that Busted are back to being emo.
Who’s David, by Busted (their 3rd of four #1s)
1 week, 22nd – 29th February 2004
It’s worrying how a song released when I was legally an adult can be filed under ‘hasn’t aged well’. I must be old. Anyway, here we are, in 2026 – with misogyny and the ‘manosphere’ hot, hot topics – grappling with ‘Who’s David’, the whiny tale of a girl that has given the Busted boys the runaround. (David being one of her many conquests, along with Peter, John and Mike.)
First things first. Girls cheat on boys, and make boys sad. Boys have the right to be upset about it without being labelled misogynists. But several of the lines in ‘Who’s David’ really land with a spiteful clunk, including digs about her make-up, an admission that they ‘invaded’ her phone, and the piece de resistance: You stupid lying bitch, Who’s David? Some guy who lives next door? (They don’t actually say ‘bitch’ as it’s blanked out, presumably at a nervous record company’s insistence. When they re-recorded their greatest hits in 2023, all grown up, they said it.)
Worst of all, though, is the insistence that they don’t really care. You’re so cheap, And I’m not blind, You’re not worthy of my time… and You can’t hurt me now, I’m over you… It’s childish. If that’s really the case boys, then why do we need this song? The far superior ‘Air Hostess’ could have been the album’s second single, and your third number one!
It’s no secret that Busted were desperate to be seen as a proper band. It’s why Charlie Simpson walked out on them, while they were at the height of their popularity, to form post-hardcore act Fightstar. But it’s also frustrating that that led to songs like this, and that of their four #1s, two are fairly spiteful. This isn’t the goofy Busted that I remember, represented by pretty much every one of their singles that didn’t make top spot.
The petulant lyrics sadly also detract from the fact that this is probably their ‘realest’ rock moment, with a chorus that is catchy and actually quite heavy. But I hadn’t heard this song in over two decades, and neither have many others. It isn’t in Busted’s Top 10 on Spotify, an impressive underachievement considering they only released eight singles in their short time together. And at least this isn’t the last we’ll hear from Busted – a band I thought I remembered fondly until I actually had to write blog posts about them – and if I’m correct their final #1 should redeem things slightly.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
In the U.S. it’s “Who’s Busted?”
Well, quite. I’ve met people who think Year 3000 was a Jonas Brothers original.
Well, it’s not the lowest charting track from Busted according to my A to Z of personal charts, it just beats You Said No, but number 57 sounds about right now I play it again. It’s not terrible, ignoring the lyrics, but the usual constipated-sounding vocal issues I have with Busted and the whining self-pity as you say, haven’t aged well. I can see why it’s not in their top 10 among people who like them. I rated their Hanson duet in 2023 on Mmmbop way more!
‘Constipated sounding vocals’ is great. They always did force those nasal Americans accents.
I don’t even dislike this song because of the lyrics (which are pretty awful, but hey, it’s rock and roll, there are far worse out there, I love the Stones and they have some pretty demeaning lyrics). The song just sounds terrible. I hate how it’s produced. Really hate how it sounds. The lead singer, barely can understand a word he’s saying, which normally is a good thing, but it just makes the song feel so cluttered and crap. Don’t like this at all.
I’ve heard some McFly songs and they are definitely the way, way better band. Can’t wait till they start showing up, though this song was written by a member of McFly funnily enough.
I feel you’re being very generous with the ‘rock and roll’ bit. I dunno. I love even the most dubious Stones songs. I always think that in Under My Thumb they’re putting on a bit of a pantomime, and hamming up their bad boy image. I don’t think they really meant it? Or maybe I let them away with it because they’re the Stones. Busted are not the Stones, and this just grates.
And yes, I love McFly and will enjoy covering them. They are a far better band than Busted. But yep, Tom Fletcher wrote this. And to be fair, James Bourne from Busted co-wrote several of McFly’s early songs.
Crazy that their two most well known songs (What I Go To School For and Year 3000) never made it to the top.
Sadly that’s the story with a lot of acts over the years – the number ones don’t always tell the full story.