James Bourne has pulled out of the Busted vs McFly tour just a day before the joint tour was due to open in Birmingham, saying on social media that recent health problems have left him unable to perform.
In an Instagram statement posted Monday, Bourne, 42, said he had become “not in good enough health to play these shows” over the past eight days and that he and his bandmates and management were unanimous in deciding he should focus on medical care for now. He added that he hoped to be able to rejoin the tour at a later date.
Bourne did not disclose detailed information about his condition in the post. McFly drummer Harry Judd, one of the members of the opposing band on the billed head-to-head shows, responded in the comment thread, "Won’t be the same without you dude. Hope you’re back on tour asap." Fans flooded Bourne’s post with well wishes, with several commenters urging him to prioritise his health and wishing him a speedy recovery.
Bourne’s withdrawal leaves Busted — which also includes Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis — temporarily down one member as the 14-date tour, billed as a head-to-head series across September, October and November, prepares to begin. The tour was announced as a format in which the two noughties pop-punk bands would perform separate sets and leave it to fans to decide which act was the stronger live band.
Bourne is no stranger to public accounts of serious health scares. In earlier social media posts two years ago, he said he was hospitalised after a bite from a black widow spider and later described experiencing hypertension, including a blood pressure reading he reported as 190/115 mmHg. He wrote at the time that he had recovered.
Busted and McFly have a long shared history. The two groups briefly merged as McBusted in 2013–2015, combining members from both bands for an extended run of concerts and recording. That collaboration concluded when Charlie Simpson rejoined Busted following a decade away; this current tour is being presented as separate performances rather than a joint six-piece.
McFly, whose members include Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter, achieved a string of UK chart successes in the 2000s, including 18 consecutive top-20 singles and multiple number ones. Busted, formed in Southend-on-Sea, has also enjoyed chart-topping singles and Brit Awards success.
Promoters and the bands have not announced whether Bourne’s scheduled appearances will be rescheduled or how the opening-night set will be adjusted. Ticket holders for the Birmingham date and subsequent shows are advised to check official band channels and the tour’s ticketing pages for the latest information.
The tour’s organisers had previously described the format as different from a typical co-headline run and promised surprises during the shows. With the tour set to begin imminently, organisers and both bands face logistical decisions about how to proceed for the opening dates while Bourne focuses on his recovery.