James Bourne has spoken out after he quit the Busted tour towards the end of last year and insisted he wants to20:25, 18 Jun 2026Updated 20:26, 18 Jun 2026James Bourne has spoken out after quitting the Busted tour. The singer, 42, took time out of the spotlight just before his band's joint tour with McFly was about to kick off last September.‌In a shock update issued earlier this year, James told fans he had to undergo major surgery to extend his life but has used his time away to work on new album Murder At The Gates, which has been more than a decade in the making and was initially created to from the basis of a new musical.‌He said: "I didn’t want my health to stop me from promoting this project because I’ve put 13 years of my life into it. There was a fear of not finishing it. But I knew I had to finish it and give this to the people.‌James felt that he couldn't let his fanbase down with the new project, which he originally collaborated on with Steven Sater, a playwright best known for who is best known for having created the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening.Speaking to The Sun, James added: “There’s like a few people that have been waiting for it. There are hardcore fans who show to up for everything – and I have been speaking about this for a long time."‌He then noted how much he regretted having to pull out of the tour, but has been able to focus his efforts onto the new album instead.He said: "I was given a lot of time back when I wasn’t touring. It was like turning a negative into a positive. It was such a shame to have to drop out from the tour, because I love touring so much."James shot to fame in the early 2000s alongside Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis, and they achieved hits with tracks such as What I Go To School For, Crashed The Wedding and Year 3000 before splitting in 2005.‌In September last year, Busted co-headlined a massive joint UK and Ireland arena tour with fellow noughties boyband McFly but fans grew concerned when James pulled out at the last minute, telling fans at the time he wasn’t well enough to perform due to “health problems“. James pulled out just hours before they were due on stage.In a message explaining his absence at the time, he 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 the medical stuff for now." He added: "I really hope I can be in a position to come back further down the line.‌It was almost six months before fans heard anything else from the star, but in April, he explained: "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!"Speaking on stage back in September last year, bandmate Matt didn’t hold back when addressing fans during the tour, revealing just how serious things had become.Speaking on stage, he said: "OK, 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 gonna do the best we can."Article continues belowMatt didn't divulge what James' diagnosis was, simply adding that the situation had escalated quickly, and saying it had happened "f***ing fast", before reminding fans that "health is wealth".Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .