ONLY days ago Charlie Simpson spoke of his disappointment that a homecoming gig with his band Busted had been cancelled. Today he is on top of the world after the band's third single shot to the top of the singles charts.

By Jo Macdonald

ONLY days ago Charlie Simpson spoke of his disappointment that a homecoming gig with his band Busted had been cancelled.

Today he is on top of the world after the band's third single shot to the top of the singles charts.

You Said No was named the nation's best selling record of the week yesterday as it beat off competition from Lisa Mafia and David Sneddon to enter the charts at number one. In the process it brought an end to the run of Make Luv by Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham which had held the top spot for four weeks.

It is a dream come true for 17-year-old Charlie, who hails from Woodbridge, and his band mates Mattie Jay and James Bourne.

The trio who have only been together for about 18 months have already enjoyed chart success with their previous two singles, What I Go To School For and Year 3000, which reached numbers two and three respectively, and their self-titled, platinum-selling debut album is back in the top ten. However, this is their first number one success.

Speaking last night at a party to celebrate Busted's number one single, former Framlingham School pupil Charlie said: "This is awesome, wicked. I'm so pleased, I'm going to go and party. We have 17 bottles of champagne and some fireworks. My family are thrilled, thank you so much to the fans.

"We are just really looking forward to our tour starting on the 17th and are releasing another album at the end of the year. We are just really enjoying it."

The band's achievement should overshadow the disappointment Charlie felt when he heard the band will no longer performing in Ipswich on their forthcoming headline tour.

When the dates for the tour, which kicks off on May 17, were first arranged they included a concert at the Regent which would have given Charlie the chance to perform in front of a home crowd. However, the band's management cancelled the date in favour of another day of rehearsals.

"It would have been amazing to play there and I'm gutted we couldn't do it. Maybe some other time," Charlie admitted recently.

Busted began when James, from Southend, and Mattie, from Kingston, decided to form a band. They put an ad in the music press for a third member and Charlie answered.

The trio turned down a record deal offer from Simon Cowell before eventually signing to Universal. Since then they have established themselves as three of the best-known and hardest working lads in pop.

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