Charlie Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England), is the vocalist and guitarist in British post-hardcore band Fightstar and ex Busted member. The Parachutes Songfacts states that Charlie Simpson has a strong musical pedigree dating back to one of his mother's ancestors, Sir William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875), who was a distinguished classical music composer of the romantic school. Charlie attended public school Uppingham, along with the likes of Harry Judd from McFly and his ex-girlfriend Camilla Smith. He was selected as the third member of Busted, beating Tom Fletcher (now lead singer and guitarist in McFly), after responding to an advert placed by Matt and James in NME magazine in 2001. He plays guitar, piano, drums and bass, and sings vocals. He is renowned for his distinguished eyebrows, which he says are "...the biggest and best in the business", and his guitar playing style. He loves Nirvana and The Deftones and considers Kurt Cobain his idol. On 14 January 2005, Charlie caused Busted to split after deciding to leave the band to concentrate on his other band, Fightstar. The name "Fightstar" was created when bassist Dan Haigh came up with the name "Evenstar" and Charlie thought of the name "A Time To Fight", these names were combined to give the name Fightstar. Following three studio albums, Fightstar initiated an extended hiatus in 2010, allowing Simpson to focus on his solo career. Parachutes, the lead single from his debut solo full-length album entitled Young Pilgrim, was released on August 15, 2011. He met the other guys in the band through Camilla when Alex's sister moved in with her as a flatmate, and Fightstar was born. He has two other brothers who are also in bands, Will in Brigade and Edd in Union Sound Set (formerly Prego); both have supported Fightstar on recent tours/gigs.
