There is some serious money to be made in the nostalgia racket as shown this week by S Club 7's triumphant return to the pop game but, as McBusted prepare to release their first (and probably last) album in time for the lucrative Christmas market, we ask if there's any merit in these types of reunions or are they a cynical rehashing of tired, old ground.

I'll admit it, when the unholy alliance between McFly and Busted was announced around a year ago it was the source of some severe piss-taking on this very website. Who would want to see that, we asked? Does anyone care? The answer to those two questions were fired back loud and clear: 'Lots' and 'Most Definitely'.

McFly had a moderately successful spell in the charts, a playground where their cheeky smiles and ever-so-hip hairstyles were enough to earn themselves some pretty significant success. Their music was aimed at a very specific market, namely teenage girls, but that sort of business plan is often hamstrung from the very beginning. Why? Because their fans grow up.

Time can be cruel and, as the years passed and their ages trundled ever upwards, McFly's places on the pop chart throne were taken by a seemingly never-ending cavalcade of walking haircuts, each capable of holding high notes slightly longer than the one before them.

With their influence diminished McFly were faced with limited options. One would be to keep plugging away and maintain the legitimacy of their operation and search for another hit song. Instead, though, they gave their mates in Busted a call.

Busted, in case you've banished all memories of them from your brain, were marketed as edgy, hip and alternative (and other such industry buzz phrases) when in reality, they were none of the above. But that hardly mattered.

A brief three year assault on the charts ended in 2005 but not before more than 2.1 million records were shifted in the UK alone, underling Busted's brief but indelible mark on the UK music industry. However, Charlie Simpson's eventual decision to ditch their sold out arena tours to front a small alternative rock act in new band Fightstar suggested that Simpson was more than happy to trade something counterfeit for an experience a bit more real.

Then last year, with memories of both bands fading into a sepia-toned haze, McBusted were ushered forth with an aggressive media campaign showing everyone that the boys were still cheeky scamps, they're the best of friends...just don't ask about their receding hairlines.

A sold out tour followed during which a thousand schoolgirl crushes were reignited for one night only with both parties, McFly and Busted, showing that there was still life in this old dog, especially when this dog is so good at jumping around on stage and selling truckloads of merchandise.

Plenty of people like McBusted, this isn't in doubt. Their tour sold well and interest in them and their recently announced debut album remains, it just doesn't appear that it will have the most fulfilling life expectancy until their replaced by the next band on the music nostalgia assembly line.

Oh, and that name... It.sounds like a variation of the McDonald's Happy Meal. Worse still, it suggests that the music is as disposable as the plastic toy contained within. Don't worry though, it's fit for children aged 2+ and won't come with anything you can choke on - much like the band themselves.