Busted star quits tour in health update ahead of Liverpool show
17:09, 15 Sep 2025Updated 17:09, 15 Sep 2025
Charlie Simpson, James Bourne and Matt Willis make up Busted(Image: WireImage)
Busted star James Bourne has announced he has pulled out of the band’s upcoming tour with McFly. The noughties pop groups are embarking on a tour this month to discover who is the better band.
Busted vs McFly is arriving at the M&S Bank Arena on October 7 and 8. However, Busted star James has confirmed he will not be on stage to perform with the group. In a statement on Instagram, he said: “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.
“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.
“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.”
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McFly star Harry said: “Won’t be the same without you dude. Hope you’re back on tour asap.” Busted bandmate Matt Willis was one of thousands who liked the post.
Matt spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview last year as he said how he always loves performing in Liverpool. He said: “The people are just cool there. People are just rad and up for a great time, which I love.”
Matt, who grew up in Surrey, has many fond memories of coming to Liverpool during the early days of Busted as he explained: “Liverpool is always one of those places I used to really look forward to on a tour. If I’m honest, it was the best night out.
“The gig was fantastic every night and the crowd was always amazing, but the afterparty was always the best. It was just a f*****g chaos town which I ate up. Now it’s very different to me.”
It is a recent memory in the city that stands out most to Matt as it was ahead of a gig at the M&S Bank Arena last year when the band finally received the coveted number one album spot in the charts for the first time. He said: “We’d never had a number one record and we’d always been pipped to the post.
“We were in a battle for number one with Olivia Rodrigo and were neck and neck so it was a real nerve-wracking week. The morning of we really didn’t know what it was going to be because she had so many more streaming numbers than us.”
However, Busted eventually triumphed as so many of their fans bought physical copies of the Greatest Hits 2.0 album and Matt said he will forever treasure the moment when he found out about the achievement. He added: “It was the one thing we hadn’t done but then we done it. We were playing Liverpool that night and Charlie had the number one trophy in his hand [as we went on stage].
“I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. That was one of the best feelings of my life in Liverpool so it’s got a special place for me and it always will do.”