He exited the tour due to an unspecified health condition

James Bourne of Busted fame sent shockwaves across his fanbase after quitting the Busted vs McFly tour a day before it kicked off this week.

Now his bandmates have shared a health update.

In an Instagram statement earlier this week (September 15), the 42-year-old star wrote: “The VS tour kicks off tomorrow night in Birmingham, and as excited as I’ve been all year for this tour to begin, I’m really sorry to say that over the last eight days it has become clear that I am not in good enough health to play these shows.”

Busted star pulls out of joint tour

‘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 explained.

“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.”

James didn’t go into any further detail about his health issues.

Bandmate Matt Willis reshared James’ statement on his Instagram Story, adding: “Love you brother,” while Charlie Simpson simply reposted with a sad face and blue heart emoji.

Additionally, the official Busted Instagram posted a Story saying: “Can’t wait to have you back, JB. In the meantime, we’ve got this. #TeamBusted Birmingham we see you tomorrow!”


James was met with plenty of compassion and understanding from fans and his bandmates (Credit: Splash News)
McFly member Harry Judd was one of many others to pledge his support to the musician, as he wrote in an Instagram comment: “Won’t be the same without you dude. Hope you’re back on tour asap.”

Love Island’s Iain Stirling also commented: “Health before everything else!” followed by a heart emoji. Meanwhile, fellow musician Olly Murs said he was “sending good vibes for a speedy recovery”.


Busted responded on their official Instagram account (Credit: Instagram)

Busted fans were also supportive

Meanwhile, Busted fans also flooded James’ post with supportive comments. “Oh James, look after yourself. It won’t be the same, but your health comes first,” one wrote. “You’ll be missed so much.”

“Likely a difficult decision to make BUT the quicker you let go of the guilt and expectation that you should be there, the quicker you can get yourself into a healing mindset and actually let your body get the rest it’s asking for,” a second advised. “Hope to see you in Leeds, but definitely won’t think negatively of you if not. I hope you feel better soon.”


Busted will be carrying on without James on tour (Credit: Splash News)

On-stage announcement shared

While performing the first night of their tour, Busted stars Matt and Charlie issued a health update about James.

Matt said: “Okay, you may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight.  James Bourne is really [bleep]ing sick and we love him and we miss him.

“This is the first show we’ve ever played without him and it’s really. But we’re going do the best we can. Health is wealth.”

Charlie then added that James’ younger brother Chris would be stepping in for him: “You might recognise this little guy from the Year 3000 video.”

Still, this isn’t the only bump in the road ahead of the McFly vs Busted tour.

Earlier this year, amid other X-rated confessions from McFly bandmates, Danny Jones was caught kissing Love Island star Maura Higgins, shattering his wholesome family man image. In the months since, his reputation seems to have somewhat recovered. So, let’s hope the tour doesn’t face any more setbacks.