Busted and McFly reveal James Bourne is ‘really sick’ after he quit tour
The musician said earlier this week he was 'not in good enough health' to perform.
Busted have revealed that James Bourne is ‘really sick’ after he was forced to step down from their latest tour.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the musician had quit the Busted Vs McFly tour just over 24 hours before it was due to kick off.
Posting on Instagram, he shared: ‘The VS tour kicks off tomorrow night in Birmingham and as excited as l’ve been all year for this tour to begin.
‘I’m really sorry to say that over the last 8 days it has become clear that I am not in good enough health to play these shows ????’
He didn’t share any further details on his health issues, but James noted his bandmates Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson supported his decision to step away for now.
During the first show in Birmingham on Tuesday night, the band addressed James’ absence.
@sineadmcflyWishing James a speedy recovery. They were great without him! #busted #jamesbourne #mcfly #bustedvsmcfly #fyp @Busted
♬ original sound – Sinead ???? The musician announced earlier this week he had to pull out of the tour (Picture: Dave J Hogan/ Getty Images) Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis said they ‘loved and missed’ him (Picture: Jeff Spicer/ Getty Images)‘You may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight,’ Matt Willis began.
‘He’s really f***ing sick, and we love him and we miss him,’ he added, as the crowd could be heard cheering in support of their band member.
He went on: ‘And this is the first show we’ve ever played without him. And it’s really weird, but we are going to do the best we can.
‘This happened fast. Health is health and wealth is wealth and we told him that he needed to look after himself.
Busted were formed in 2000 (Picture: South Coast Press/ Rex/ Shutterstock)‘This is supposed to be all meaningful…we were like “James, what do you want to do about this? We’ve got a tour, should we do it or not do it?”, and he told us to do it.
‘We told him we wanted to do it and didn’t want to let anyone down, but told him it was going to be f***ing weird on stage without him, and we need to get someone else to play guitar.’
Matt then joked that he suggested one of the members of McFly could step up, to which James declared: ‘Absolutely not.’
‘We suggested it, but James was adamant that was not a choice.’
Busted vs McFly 2025 tour datesSeptember 16 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
September 17 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
September 19 – London, OVO Arena Wembley
September 20 – London, The O2
September 21 – London, The O2
September 23 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
September 24 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
September 26 – Sheffield, Utilita Arena
September 27 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
September 28 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
September 30 – Aberdeen, P&J Live
October 2 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
October 3 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
October 7 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
October 8 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
October 10 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
October 14 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
October 15 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
October 17 – Manchester, AO Arena
October 21 – Belfast, SSE Arena
October 31 – London, The O2
November 1 – London, The O2
November 3 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
November 5- Manchester, Co-op Live
November 6 – Sheffield, Utilita Arena
November 8 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
They then brought out James’ younger brother, Chris, on stage to step up into the spot.
In his original announcement, James also explained: ‘There’s a lot of information I still don’t have about my condition, but my bandmates, management, and I are unanimous in deciding that I should focus on the medical stuff for now,’ he continued.
The former Son of Dork frontman promised fans they will still get ‘an amazing show’, and he’s hopeful he can get back to doing what he loves ‘further down the line.’
He added: ‘I really hope I can be in a position to come back further down the line. It’s still going to be an amazing show, and I will miss being there! See you all as soon as possible.’
Busted and McFly have been close for over two decades (Picture: Zak Hussein/Getty Images)Formed in 2000, Busted earned four UK number-one singles, won two Brit Awards, released four albums, and sold over 5 million records worldwide. before disbanding in 2005. They later reunited a decade later after pursuing their own solo careers.
This current tour sees Busted take on McFly – Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd – in a WWE-style on-stage battle.
The two bands previously joined forces as McBusted, but this time they will hit the stage as rivals.
‘The whole tour is to find out who’s a better band. Fans can decide. [The fans] can come and support their band, and they might change their mind. It’s going to be a fight to the death,’ the groups previously teased.
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