James Bourne reveals surprise new album after surgery to ‘extend his life’

James Bourne said he has had to ‘turn negative into positive’ after his health concerns prevented him from going on tour with Busted (Picture: Britain/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)

Busted musician James Bourne is releasing a new album amid ongoing health struggles that saw him pull back from the spotlight.

The 42-year-old guitarist revealed in April that he has to undergo major surgery that would ‘extend his life.’

Fans were left concerned when the star appeared to have deleted his Instagram account earlier this month.

But behind the scenes, James has continued to work on a long-term project he says he is determined to finish – a new album titled Murder At The Gates.

The 13-year megaproject has been created for a new musical by Tony Award-winning US playwright Steven Sater.

Speaking to The Sun, James 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.

He has now announced surprise new album Murder At The Gates, which is a musical (Picture: Murder At The Gates)

‘There was a fear of not finishing it. But I knew I had to finish it and give this to the people.

‘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.

‘It feels so good to now have this as a finished product. And it’s the first album I’ve ever produced. So I’m proud of it.’

The new album will be released on July 1, and also features Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo.

James revealed that the closely-guarded new album, which even his Busted bandmates have not heard entirely, has a ‘different feeling to all the others.’

James, pictured in January 2025, is releasing his new collaboration next month (Picture: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images)

The musician, who lives in Cornwall, announced in September that he wouldn’t be on the Busted tour.

Instead, his brother Chris stepped in to replace him and toured with the Busted’s other two members, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson.

Matt previously told Metro that he never wanted to tour without James again.

‘It was a real shame, we’ve never done a show without James and it was really hard. There was a real moment of “are we gonna do this or not? Should we do this?”

‘We were talking to him and he was like “you should still do it, I just can’t be there.” It was a really difficult time for us. It all happened so quickly.’

James’s bandmates frequently mentioned him during the tour, with Matt telling fans through tears he was ‘really sick’.

He previously had to pull out of Busted’s tour, devastating fans and his bandmates (Picture: Getty)

‘It was strange; it was weird. I don’t ever want to do it again,’ he added.

‘It was a weird tour. It was still great, we put on as good a show as we could, but we were definitely missing something.’

But James has explained that not being on the tour meant he has been given the ‘gift of time,’ although dropping out ‘was such a shame.’

He continued to The Sun: ‘But you have to turn negative into positive. They’re the conversations I’ve had with my closest friends.

‘I wanted to take the time I’d been given and deliver this album.’

James wanted to prioritise using the time he’s been given to deliver the album, which has been 13 years in the making (Picture: Getty)

James had alarmed fans when he posted on Instagram in April about his need for major surgery, following his skipped shows and a long silence.

‘I realised it’s been about six months since I posted last,’ he wrote on his Instagram Story.

‘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 has not disclosed any further details about the nature of his illness.

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