James Bourne has stepped down from the Busted Vs McFly tour with just over 24 hours to go.
The two pop rock juggernauts are set to collide in a unique joint run of shows across the UK, which kicks off tomorrow night in Birmingham and rolls on until November 8 in Nottingham.
With one day to go, Year 3000 hitmaker James has confirmed he won’t be taking part due to health reasons.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘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 :-(‘
James didn’t go into any further details on his health issues, but noted his bandmates Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson support his decision to step away for now.
‘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 continued.
The former Son of Dork frontman promised fans they will still get ‘an amazing show’, and he’s hopeful he can get back to doing what he loves ‘further down the line.
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.’
Busted vs McFly 2025 tour dates
- September 16 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
- September 17 – Birmingham, BP Pulse Live
- September 19 – London, OVO Arena Wembley
- September 20 – London, The O2
- September 21 – London, The O2
- September 23 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
- September 24 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
- September 26 – Sheffield, Utilita Arena
- September 27 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
- September 28 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
- September 30 – Aberdeen, P&J Live
- October 2 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
- October 3 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
- October 7 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
- October 8 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
- October 10 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
- October 14 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
- October 15 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
- October 17 – Manchester, AO Arena
- October 21 – Belfast, SSE Arena
- October 31 – London, The O2
- November 1 – London, The O2
- November 3 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
- November 5- Manchester, Co-op Live
- November 6 – Sheffield, Utilita Arena
- November 8 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
McFly drummer Harry Judd replied: ‘Won’t be the same without you dude. Hope you’re back on tour asap.’
And the official Busted account wrote on their story: ‘Can’t wait to have you back JB. In the meantime, we’ve got this. #TeamBusted Birmingham we see you tomorrow!’
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Matt and Charlie will be performing as Busted without James for the first time when they hit the road to take on McFly – Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd – in a WWE-style on stage battle.
In October 2024, Busted interrupted McFly’s London gig at The O2 with a callout straight out of the world of professional wrestling.
‘Right now here tonight, we challenge you to the ultimate face off, next year, 2025 Busted Vs McFly the tour. The Challenge is yours if you choose to accept it,’ Busted announced, according to MailOnline.
The two bands previously joined forces as McBusted before Charlie rejoined the What I Go To School For trio, but this time they’ll be colliding as rivals.
‘The whole tour is to find out who’s a better band. Fans can decide. [The fans] can come and support their band and they might change their mind. It’s going to be a fight to the death,’ they groups previously teased.
Speaking to Metro after the announcement, they laughed about the idea of gunging the losing band in a real 00s move.
However, Dougie insisted: ‘We’ll just let the music and the playing do the talking.’ concludes Dougie, before his bandmates go off on an extreme tangent about using him as a human sacrifice on tour.
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