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Son of Dork were a British
pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
band formed by
James Bourne James Elliot Bourne (born 13 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is known as the co-founder of pop-punk bands Busted (band), Busted and Son of Dork, and he also created his own electronic project under the alias Fu ...
after his previous band, Busted, split in January 2005. The name of the band came from a scene in the 1990 film '' Problem Child'' where the chant "Son of Dork" is used. Their debut
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
, " Ticket Outta Loserville", was released in November 2005, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Their second single, " Eddie's Song", reached No. 10 in January 2006. Son of dork to play three summer shows in 2025 in the UK


Formation

James Bourne placed adverts in publications such as
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
and
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
in order to recruit potential band members for his new project. The members that were chosen had all been involved in bands. Drummer Danny Hall had previously spent ten years with hardcore metal band "Spiral Rocks" and Punk band "Like I Care", whereas guitarist Chris Leonard had been in band "Stamford Amp", the house band on BBC's ''
The Saturday Show ''The Saturday Show'' can refer to: Radio *The Saturday Show (Radio Sweden), ''The Saturday Show'' (Radio Sweden), a program broadcast on Radio Sweden 1967–1981 *Amazing Radio, ''The Saturday Show'' (Amazing Radio), a weekly radio show broadcas ...
'' in 2002 and had also toured with acts including
Brian McFadden Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter. He rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo ...
and Busted. Steven Rushton was dividing his time between former band "Mr Cheerful", college studies and a job in Sainsbury's. Bourne decided to name the band after a scene in the film Problem Child.


Music career


Welcome to Loserville: 2005 - 2007

In November 2005, Son of Dork released their first single " Ticket Outta Loserville" which reached number 3 in the UK Charts, followed a few weeks later with their debut album '' Welcome to Loserville''. Follow-up single " Eddie's Song" was released in January 2006 and reached number 10 in the UK charts. Son of Dork then penned their next single "We're Not Alone" for
Ant and Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...
's film '' Alien Autopsy'', although it was never released as a single. On 6 February 2007 Son of Dork toured with
Wheatus Wheatus is an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single, "Teenage Dirtbag". They also experienced success with their 2001 cover version of Erasure (duo), Erasure's "A Little ...
,
Army of Freshmen Army of Freshmen is an American rock band formed in Ventura, California in 1997. They have performed over 1,500 shows in 13 countries and 43 US states. The band have released three albums and four singles since their first release in 2001. They ...
, and
Bowling for Soup Bowling for Soup is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion), and Rob Felicetti (bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar). The band i ...
in The Get Happy '07 Tour. The tours were met with a favourable reception and the band performed a new song originally for the deluxe edition of their ''Welcome to Loserville'' album called "Colgate Smile". The band during most of 2007 went under Bourne's self-created record company Sic Puppy Records. During this time they headlined The Sic Tour which gave several unsigned bands an opportunity to perform to the public. The gig took place in Shepards Bush Empire on 24 March and the band debuted new songs including " What Happened To Your Band?" and "Go Home Monday".


Split and further projects: 2008 - present

Although there has never been an official announcement, Son of Dork's split in 2007 was confirmed by Bourne on a tweet in November 2020. He stated 'In the background I was being heavily sued in the high court of justice for the rights to all the Busted songs. I left the band to give my undivided attention to fighting this case which after 4 years I won. Then I started trying to bring my music career back to life.' Post-split, Bourne would go on to join
pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
supergroup
McBusted McBusted were an English pop-punk Supergroup (music), supergroup composed of members from bands McFly (Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd) and Busted (band), Busted (James Bourne and Matt Willis). The only member of the o ...
before rejoining Busted in 2015. Steve Rushton began a solo career in the US, contributing to soundtracks to films Hannah Montana: The Movie,
G-Force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...
and
Race To Witch Mountain ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is a 2009 American science fiction adventure film directed by Andy Fickman. The film stars Dwayne Johnson alongside AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciarán Hinds, Alexander Ludwig, Tom Everett Scott, and Christoph ...
. He also provided the theme song to ''
The Suite Life on Deck ''The Suite Life on Deck'' is an American teen sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan, and developed by Kallis and Pamela Eells O'Connell. The series aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008, to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/ spi ...
''. On the possibility of a reunion, Bourne stated in an interview that if he was to reform Son of Dork he would only bring back the members who wanted to come back. There was a reunion of sorts when Steve Rushton, Chris Leonard and James Bourne, along with the Welsh duo Lilygreen & Maguire, all recorded a cover of Michael Jackson's "
Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released in January 1988 as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh solo al ...
". In 2019, Bourne stated he'd had ideas for a Son of Dork
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
. In January 2024, Bourne reiterated on the social media site X that he'd do another album if 'people wanted it'.


Members

*
James Bourne James Elliot Bourne (born 13 September 1983) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is known as the co-founder of pop-punk bands Busted (band), Busted and Son of Dork, and he also created his own electronic project under the alias Fu ...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Steve Rushton – co-lead vocals, bass *David Williams – rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Chris Leonard – lead guitar, backing vocals *Danny Hall – drums


Tours

*Better Late Than Never Tour 2007 (Headline tour) (Cancelled) *The Skegness Circular 2007 *Sic Tour 2007 – Headline Act *Get Happy Tour 2007 (Support for
Bowling for Soup Bowling for Soup is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion), and Rob Felicetti (bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar). The band i ...
with
Army of Freshmen Army of Freshmen is an American rock band formed in Ventura, California in 1997. They have performed over 1,500 shows in 13 countries and 43 US states. The band have released three albums and four singles since their first release in 2001. They ...
and
Wheatus Wheatus is an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single, "Teenage Dirtbag". They also experienced success with their 2001 cover version of Erasure (duo), Erasure's "A Little ...
throughout the UK) Welcome to Loserville Live Radio Tour 2006 *12 & 13 May-Glasgow SECC *14 May- Manchester MEN Arena *15 & 16 May-
Birmingham NEC The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rai ...
*17, 18 & 19 May-London
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...


Legacy

In 2009, lead-singer James Bourne co-wrote a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
alongside Elliot Davies based on the band's debut album Welcome to Loserville, titled
Loserville ''Loserville'' is a musical with music and lyrics by James Bourne and Elliot Davis, originally created for Youth Music Theatre UK. The story is based on an album, '' Welcome to Loserville'' from Bourne's second band, Son of Dork. ''Loservill ...
. The production was named alongside Tim Minchin's
Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...
as evidence of a resurgence in new British musicals by The Stage newspaper after the Leeds opening. In 2012, it opened in the West End. The song What Happened To Your Band was originally slated to appear on the Welcome To Loserville deluxe album, however after the cancellation Bourne repurposed the song for
McBusted McBusted were an English pop-punk Supergroup (music), supergroup composed of members from bands McFly (Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd) and Busted (band), Busted (James Bourne and Matt Willis). The only member of the o ...
. It was later covered and included in Busted's fourth album
Half Way There ''Half Way There'' is the fourth studio album by English pop punk band Busted (band), Busted. It was released on 1 February 2019 and it received positive reviews from critics. Background and composition In June 2017, Busted flew to Los Angeles ...
.


Discography


Studio albums


Singles


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control English pop punk groups Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Busted (band)