Credibility is still pop's most priceless commodity. Stars can be selling millions of records, yet secretly pine for the badge of cred bestowed by comparisons with "proper" groups. However, apart from Robbie Williams when he left Take That and punked up his hair, few stars bite the hand that feeds them, which makes Charlie Simpson different. When he walked out on Busted this month for Fightstar, he wasn't planning a mega solo career à la Robbie but on chasing the music that he loves: a much less commercial form of angst-ridden metal known variously as "emo" or "post-hardcore".
Fightstar have so far shunned the media and are appearing at a student emo club where the credibility of music played is all important. An over-18s rule excludes most of Busted's audience, who have been replaced by people with piercings in places most Busted fans aren't old enough to know about. This doesn't stop them screaming. Where Busted were light and spiky, Fightstar are mostly remorselessly heavy.
Perhaps singing teeny punk tunes about air stewardesses for three years has contributed to Simpson's anguished Kurt Cobain howl. Having traded in his Busted clobber for an authentically almost dirty grunge "tee", the 19-year-old looks the part. None of his bandmates (mates with whom Simpson has "jammed" for some time) look anything like pop stars. This is probably the point.
Fightstar scream and grind their riffs. Fightstar shake their hair. The second guitarist/vocalist belies his bespectacled nerdy appearance to call the audience "crazy bastards". In emotional moments, Simpson is actually headbanging. They certainly rock. Whether they have the songs to take them as far as Busted is debatable, but when kids bestow their approval by crowd surfing, Simpson's delight is palpable. What next? Blue go death metal?
· At Central Station and Yales, Wrexham (01978 264940), on Saturday. Then touring.
