Busted have shared an update on James Bourne’s health after he was forced to sit out the band’s joint UK and Ireland tour with McFly.
The ‘Busted vs McFly’ run of arena dates kicked off in Birmingham last night (Tuesday September 16) ahead of further concerts in London, Cardiff, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin and other cities.
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On Monday (September 15) singer and guitarist Bourne told fans he was “not in good enough health to play these shows” and said he was “really sorry” to step back from the tour.
He explained that he’d been ill “over the last eight days”, adding: “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.”
Bourne did not give any further details about his illness, but said: “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.”
As reported by The Mirror, Matt Willis addressed Bourne’s absence during Busted’s opening show in Birmingham yesterday. “OK, you may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight,” he told the audience.
“James Bourne is really fucking sick and we love him and we miss him.”
Willis continued: “This is the first show we’ve ever played without him and it’s really weird, but we’re gonna do the best we can.” He said Bourne falling ill “happened fucking fast”, before telling the crowd: “Health is wealth.”
Willis revealed that he and Charlie Simpson had told Bourne to look after himself, and asked him if he wanted them to cancel the tour. However, Bourne gave them his blessing for the concerts to continue without him.
He remembered telling Bourne that they were “gonna get someone else to play guitar on some songs because we’re gonna miss something”. Simpson joked that Bourne hadn’t wanted one of McFly to cover for him.
Bourne’s younger brother, Chris, is currently standing in. “You might recognise this little guy from the ‘Year 3000’ video,” Willis said.
The Busted vs McFly tour is due to run until early November. In 2013, McFly teamed up with Busted members Willis and Bourne to form the supergroup McBusted. They embarked on a tour and released their self-titled debut album in 2014, before going on hiatus.
When announcing the Busted vs McFly tour, the latter explained: “Busted gatecrashed our show last night (not cool), and challenged us to a VS tour next year. They’re old men now, and we are gonna blow them and their carers off the stage next year.
“We’ve had a great time celebrating our 21st birthday this week and next year is going to be even better – P.S Busted Suck.”
Busted released their fourth and latest studio album, ‘Half Way There’, in 2019 before sharing their UK Number One ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’ compilation in 2023.
Last summer, the trio revealed that they’d been working on new music with former Bring Me the Horizon musician Jordan Fish. Busted then spoke about how Fish had pushed them in the studio, calling him “an extraordinary talent”.
Meanwhile, many fans believe that Charlie Simpson is the frontman of the mysterious new act President. The band played their debut show at Download 2025, before taking to the stage in London. President have since announced a 2026 UK and Ireland tour and their first US headline dates.
