By Catriona Rigney,Joel Leaver
Copyright ok
James Bourne’s Busted bandmate told fans that he’s “really f***ing sick”, during the opening night of their joint tour with McFly on Tuesday night. The update came after James’ announcement that he was pulling out of the tour due to his health.
The two bands have kicked off the Busted vs McFly tour this week, which brings them together for a series of shows. The tour debuted at the bp pulse LIVE arena in Birmingham on Tuesday night, with a second show scheduled there tonight.
Before the opening night, James stated that he was “not in good enough health” to perform on the tour. In a heartfelt statement, the musician expressed hope that he’d be able to join his bandmates “further down the line”.
His sudden absence was addressed at the first show last night. Clips shared on social media show Matt Willis discussing the missing Busted member while on stage with their bandmate Charlie Simpson.
Matt told the crowd: “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”, reports the Mirror.
The singer, who has been part of the band with James and Charlie since Busted’s inception in the early 2000s, continued: “This is the first show we’ve ever played without him and it’s really weird.” Matt added: “But we’re gonna do the best we can.”
Matt also revealed that it all “happened f***ing fast” before sharing with the audience: “Health is wealth.” He mentioned that James’ bandmates urged him to take care of himself and went on to say that they asked James if he wanted them to cancel the tour. However, James gave his blessing for the shows to proceed without him.
He recalled telling James: “We’re gonna get someone else to play guitar on some songs because we’re gonna miss something.” Charlie teased that James hadn’t wanted one of McFly to cover for him. Matt then announced that James’ younger brother Chris Bourne would be joining them instead, telling the audience: “You might recognise this little guy from the Year 3000 video.”
In a statement shared just days ago, James said: “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 continued by informing fans that the decision was made with his bandmates. He stated: “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 concluded in the statement: “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.”
After their opening night, Busted vs McFly is in Birmingham once more tonight, before the tour heads to venues in London, Cardiff, Newcastle and Liverpool. The tour is expected to wrap up in Nottingham in November.
