AN ICONIC British pop band has been forced to scrap an upcoming performance amid one member’s battle with a mystery illness.
The Year 3000 hitmakers were due to take to the stage in Bradford for the Radio 1 Anthems show in the Yorkshire city.
Yet even though the gig isn’t until next month, Busted have revealed they’ve pulled out already.
It comes amid founding member James Bourne‘s ongoing, but as yet not disclosed, medical battles which have left the guitarist “really f**king sick.”
On a message posted to Busted’s official Instagram page, the band wrote: “We are sorry to say that we will no longer be performing at Radio 1’s Anthems Live in Bradford on November 15.
“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.”
They added: “We look forward to being back performing as a full band when the time is right.”
SHOW GOES ON
Just days before the arena run of tours was due to begin, James announced that he had been forced to pull out due to a health issue.
None of the boys wanted to let fans down and so they decided to push ahead with a replacement on guitar.
At the time, bassist Matt told the Birmingham crowd: “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.
“This is the first show we’ve ever played without him and it’s really weird but we’re going to do the best we can.
“This happened really fast, y’know, health is wealth.”
He explained how they asked James whether or not they should continue and he told them: “You should totally do it”.
They then introduced a familiar face to the stage.
Matt said: “You might recognise this little guy from the Year 3000 video. This is James’s brother Chris Bourne.”
Chris then appeared from the wings and was greeted by cheers.
During another show, Matt choked back tears on-stage as fan concern grew.
JAMES’ SAD STATEMENT
In a message to fans, James admitted he “wasn’t in good enough health” to perform on tour, in a series of gigs where the band had scheduled to teamed up with McFly.
The current run of live shows will wrap at the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham on November 8.
In his statement, James cited health problems and said he “hoped to come back further down the line”.
He wrote: “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,”
Although he didn’t disclose what the health issue is, James said: “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 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!”