James Bourne’s Health Update and the Busted vs McFly Tour
James Bourne, a member of the British pop band Busted, has shared a concerning health update. The 42-year-old singer revealed that he is preparing for “major surgery to extend my life.” This comes six months after he had to pull out of the Busted vs McFly tour just before it began in Birmingham.
Bourne was forced to step away from the tour due to his health, with his bandmates describing him as “really f***ing sick.” In a recent Instagram Story post, he mentioned that it has been about six months since his last update. He explained that he has a plan in place for the surgery, which he hopes will make him well enough to return to touring and making music.
“I really suck to be out of the game,” Bourne wrote. “But there is hope!”
During the first show of the tour, Matt Willis addressed the absence of Bourne on stage. He said, “Okay, you may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight. James Bourne is really f***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.”
Bourne had previously announced his decision to quit the tour due to health reasons. In an Instagram post, he expressed his disappointment, writing: “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 8 days it has become clear that I am not in good enough health to play these shows :-(“
He added that there is still a lot of information he doesn’t have about his condition, but he and his bandmates are united in focusing on his medical treatment for now. “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.”
The Busted vs McFly Tour
The Busted vs McFly tour took place throughout September, October, and November. The two bands, Busted and McFly, reunited for a head-to-head competition.
Busted’s members, James, Charlie Simpson, and Matt Willis, stated at the time of the announcement: “The whole tour is to find out who’s a better band. Fans can decide. They can come and support their band and they might change their mind. It’s going to be a fight to the death.”
Matt continued, saying, “It has been a long time coming, this tour. Fans have wanted this. There’s a massive crossover in the fanbases but secretly I think everyone likes Busted more.”
McFly consists of Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd, and Dougie Poynter. Charlie Simpson, known for hits like “Crashed The Wedding” and “You Said No” with Busted, explained the nature of the tour. He said, “[McBusted] was a different thing. This is very much, we’re doing it as two different bands. The way we’ve set up the show is different to a normal show. It’s not a co-headline tour and there are going to be some surprises along the way which people genuinely won’t have seen before.”
Legacy of Busted and McFly
McFly has achieved 18 consecutive UK top 20 singles, seven of which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. They also won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Pop Act.
Busted, hailing from Southend-on-Sea, enjoyed four UK number one singles, won two Brit Awards, and sold over five million records worldwide. In 2013, the two bands joined forces as a six-piece pop-punk supergroup called McBusted. However, this collaboration did not include Charlie Simpson, who chose to focus on his rock band Fightstar and a solo career.
