Busted star James Bourne’s Instagram account has disappeared months after he pulled out of the band’s tour.
The band, consisting of James Bourne, Matt Willis, and Charlie Simpson, formed in 2000 but confirmed their split in an emotional press conference on January 13, 2005. However they thrilled fans when they got back together ten years later, and have been going strong ever since.
In September last year, Busted co-headlined a massive joint UK and Ireland arena tour with 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.
View 3 Images(left to right) James Bourne, Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis from Busted(Image: PA)
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.”
Speaking on stage back in September last year, Matt Willis 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.”
Matt 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: “health is wealth”.
View 3 ImagesTom Fletcher and Danny Jones of McFLY perform onstage with Joel Dommett during the NTA’s 2025 (Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
In April this year James admitted: “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!”
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Now, when fans click through to scroll his Insta profile, it’s completely gone. It shows a blank white page with the words: “Sorry this page isn’t available. The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”
This message usually pops up when Instagram has removed the account or the account holder has deleted their page.
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