Who's David

"Who's David" is a song by British pop punk band Busted. It was released on 16 February 2004 as the second single from their second studio album, A Present for Everyone (2003). It was co-written by Tom Fletcher of McFly. The single features the live version of "Teenage Kicks", which the band performed at the 2004 Brit Awards ceremony. In response to being frequently asked "who is David?", Willis claimed that David is the name of his facial mole.^[1]

"Who's David"
Single by Busted
from the album A Present for Everyone
B-side	"Teenage Kicks" "Where Is the Love?" "Fall at Your Feet" "Aliens"
Released	16 February 2004 (2004-02-16)
Length	3:35 (uncensored album version) 3:19 (single version)
Label	Universal Island
Songwriter(s)	James Bourne Tom Fletcher
Producer(s)	Steve Power
Busted singles chronology
"Crashed the Wedding" (2003) "Who's David" (2004) "Air Hostess" (2004)

The song was written about experiences with a girl who is unfaithful. It peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's third number-one single and their second consecutive.

Critical reception

In August 2004, "Who's David" came 20th in a VH1 viewer survey of the worst number-one singles of all time.^[2]

In her review of Busted's May 2016 show at Wembley Arena during the Pigs Can Fly Tour 2016, The Daily Telegraph's Alice Vincent wrote: "Who's David, which paints its female muse crudely, has dated badly – especially when misogynistic epithets came from the mouths of now fully grown men."^[3] When asked about it by Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian, Bourne seemed confused; Willis replied "Basically, it's not cool to call women bitches any more.", whilst Simpson said "[he was] not sure it ever was."^[4]

Music video

The official music video features Busted before they go on stage for a gig at Wembley Arena.^[5] The video begins with the band backstage, followed by thousands of fans piling into the arena. Busted are swamped by paparazzi as they go towards the stage, but are helped there by management. The video ends with Busted running up a ramp onto the stage.^[6]

Track listings

UK CD1 and cassette single[7][8] "Who's David" (single version) "Teenage Kicks" UK CD2[9] "Who's David" (single version) "Where Is the Love?" "Fall at Your Feet" "Who's David" (video)

Japanese CD single[10] "Who's David" "Where Is the Love?" "Fall at Your Feet" "Teenage Kicks" "Who's David" (video)

Personnel

Personnel are taken from the A Present for Everyone album booklet.^[11]

• James Bourne – writing
• Tom Fletcher – writing
• Steve Power – production, mixing, programming
• Dan Porter – assistant recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 9 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[14] 89 Scotland (OCC)[15] 2 UK Singles (OCC)[16] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Singles (OCC)[17] 75

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	16 February 2004	CD cassette	Universal Island	[18]
Japan	25 February 2004	CD		[19]

References

1. "Individual random facts:-". Busted Online. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
2. Oliver, Mark (13 August 2004). "Cliff hit voted worst ever number one". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
3. Vincent, Alice (12 May 2016). "Does Charlie Simpson regret agreeing to a Busted reunion? Wembley Arena review". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
4. Gibsone, Harriet (24 November 2016). "Busted on reforming: 'People don't get why we are here again … they know how it ended'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
5. "We're on film with our pop idols Busted". Daily Echo. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
6. "Busted – Who's David". 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2016 – via YouTube.
7. Who's David (UK CD1 liner notes). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2004. MCSTD40355, 9816998-8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. Who's David (UK cassette single sleeve). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2004. MCSC40355.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Who's David (UK CD2 liner notes). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2004. MCSXD40355, 9817000-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Who's David (Japanese CD single liner notes). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2004. UICI-5013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. A Present for Everyone (UK CD album booklet). Busted. Universal Records, Island Records. 2003. MCD60090, 9865875.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. "Hits of the World – Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 10. 30 August 2003. p. 53. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Who's David". Irish Singles Chart.
14. "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 14, saptamina 5.04 – 11.04, 2004" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 21 February 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
15. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
17. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
18. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 14 February 2004. p. 27.
19. "CDリリース" [CD Releases] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 5 March 2004. Retrieved 23 August 2023.