Son of Dork were a British pop punk band formed by James Bourne 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 "Ticket Outta Loserville" is the lead single from British pop punk band Son of Dork's debut and only studio album,''Welcome to Loserville'' (2005). Released on 7 November 2005, two weeks prior to the album, the single peaked at number three on the ...

", was released in November 2005, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Their second single, "

Eddie's Song "Eddie's Song" is the second and final single from British pop-punk band Son of Dork's debut and only studio album, ''Welcome to Loserville'' (2005). Released on 16 January 2006, the single peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart as well as nu ...

", reached No. 10 in January 2006.

Formation

James Bourne placed adverts in publications such as NME and The Stage 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'' in 2002 and had also toured with acts including Brian McFadden and Busted.

Steven Rushton Steven John Rushton (born 30 October 1987) is a British solo artist, and formerly co-lead singer bassist for the pop punk band, Son of Dork. Rushton contributed two songs to the number 1 box office and Billboard movie/soundtrack album, '' Hanna ...

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

In November

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Son of Dork released their first single "

" which reached number 3 in the UK Charts, followed a few weeks later with their debut album ''

Welcome to Loserville ''Welcome to Loserville'' is the only studio album from British pop punk band Son of Dork. The album was released on 21 November 2005 by Mercury Records. The album was later adapted into a musical, "Loserville the Musical", by band member James B ...

''. Follow-up single "

" 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 (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's dr ...

's film ''

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'', although it was never released as a single. On 6 February 2007 Son of Dork toured with Wheatus,

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 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". 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

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

McBusted 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 gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

and Race To Witch Mountain. He also provided the theme song to '' The Suite Life on Deck''. 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-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson' ...

". 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 ...

Members

* James Bourne – lead vocals, rhythm guitarist *

Steve Rushton Steven John Rushton (born 30 October 1987) is a British solo artist, and formerly co-lead singer bassist for the pop punk band, Son of Dork. Rushton contributed two songs to the number 1 box office and Billboard movie/soundtrack album, '' Hannah ...

– lead vocals, bassist *David Williams- rhythm guitarist, backing vocals *Chris Leonard – lead guitarist, 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 with

and Wheatus throughout the UK) Welcome to Loserville Live Radio Tour 2006 *12 & 13 May-Glasgow SECC *14 May-

Manchester MEN Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has t ...

*15 & 16 May-

Birmingham NEC The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...

*17, 18 & 19 May-London Wembley Arena

Loserville: The Musical

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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

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. ''Loserville'' ...

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)