Busted’s James Bourne: ‘I have a plan in place to have a major surgery that should extend my life’

Busted’s James Bourne says he is having 'major surgery that should extend my life', in his first update since pulling out of the band's tour six months ago. Photo / Getty Images

Busted’s James Bourne says he is having “major surgery that should extend my life”.

The 42-year-old musician left fans devastated last year when he was forced to pull out of the band’s tour with McFly the day before it kicked off because of his health.

And, he has now updated fans on his condition, but insisted he wants to get back to “touring and making music” as soon as possible.

James wrote on his Instagram Stories: “I realised it’s been about six months since I posted last. I have a plan in place to have a major surgery that should extend my life and hopefully make me well enough to come back to what I love the most which is touring and making music. It really sucks to be out of the game. But there is hope!”

He did not give any extra information on his health or any details of the planned surgery.

In September, James revealed he would be pulling out of the tour.

He wrote on Instagram at the time: “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 eight 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.”

He added in a caption: “Feeling grateful to have the support of my girlfriend and my family. Taking a break for a while.”

James’ bandmates have frequently mentioned him during the tour, with Matt Willis telling fans he was “really f****** sick”.

Matt said on stage: “Okay, you may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight. James Bourne is really f****** sick and we love him and we miss him. This is the first show we’ve ever played without him and it’s really weird. But we’re gonna do the best we can.”

He added that it had “happened f****** fast”, and went on to say “health is wealth”.