Busted have cancelled an upcoming Radio 1 concert on November 15 due to James Bourne’s ongoing illness, as it’s still unclear what is ailing the singer following weeks of no-shows.
Last month, James quit the historic Busted Vs McFly tour across the UK and Ireland just over 24 hours before it was due to kick off due to his health.
Posting a statement on Instagram with 24 hours norice, James, 42, 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 🙁’
Now, it appears James’ health has not sufficiently improved, as Busted – made up of James, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson – have been forced to pull out of a one-off Radio 1 gig in a fortnight.
‘We are sorry to say that we will no longer be performing at Radio 1’s Anthems Live in Bradford on November 15,’ the band’s official page announced on Instagram.
‘James’ health is our priority and having discussed as a band we agree it wouldn’t feel right to do this without him.
‘We love Radio 1 and thank them very much for their understanding.
‘We look forward to being back performing as a full band when the time is right.’
On the first night of their tour – which Busted share with McFly’s Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd and Tom Fletcher – Charlie told the Birmingham crowd that James was ‘really sick’ and we ‘love him so much and we miss him’.
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Choking back tears, Matt Willis continued: ‘We love him, we talked to him and we said, mate, do we pull out of this? What do we do? He said no – I want you to keep playing the shows.’
In his original announcement, James also explained of his ‘condition’: ‘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 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.’
Earlier this month on October 3, Matt – who is married to presenter Emma Willis – spoke about his incredibly close bond with James on his On The Mend podcast.
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‘I’ve been in a long-term relationship, you know, I was 16 with these boys,’ he began, speaking about the formation of the group in 2000.
He went on to say what he loved individually about James.
‘I’ve got quite a few things about James,’ he said. ‘When I think about people in my life, apart from Emma [Willis], James Bourne has had more of an impact on me than anybody I’ve ever met.
‘More than my family. I met that kid when we were 15 years old. I have been through everything with him, and I don’t think I’ve ever told him anything nice. We haven’t got that relationship.’
He described James as ‘the most individual person he’s ever met’ and he ‘will not change for anyone.’
Formed in 2000, Busted earned four UK number one singles, won two Brit Awards and sold over 3 million records worldwide before they disbanded in 2005.
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