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Busted have said their bandmate James Bourne is ‘really f**king sick’ as they performed during their first night of tour on Tuesday.
The musician, 42, was forced to pull out of the Busted vs McFly tour, just a day before it kicked off in Birmingham.
As they appeared on stage for their first show, Matt Willis said: 'Okay, 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. But we're going do the best we can. Health is wealth.'
Charlie Simpson explained that while they needed to get someone to cover for him James didn't want one of the McFly boys to do it.
Busted have said their bandmate James Bourne is ‘really f**king sick’ as they performed during their first night of tour on Tuesday
As they appeared on stage for their first show, Matt Willis said: 'Okay, you may have noticed our best friend is not here tonight'
Matt revealed that James' younger brother Chris would be stepping in for him and announced: 'You might recognise this little guy from the Year 3000 video.'
James announced in a statement on Monday that he's had to quit the tour due to health reasons.
He wrote on Instagram: 'The VS tour kicks off tomorrow night in Birmingham and as excited as l'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 :-(
'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.'
Devastated the star won't be joining them on stage, McFly's Harry Judd wrote in the comments: 'Won’t be the same without you dude. Hope you’re back on Tour asap.'
Fans were left gutted after James's announcement as they flooded his comments with well wishes.
James announced in a statement on Monday that he's had to quit the tour due to health reasons
Busted and McFly have reunited for an incredible head-to-head joint tour throughout September, October and November.
Busted's James, Charlie and Matt, said at the time of the announcement: 'The whole tour is to find out who's a better band. Fans can decide.
'They can come and support their band and they might change their mind. It's going to be a fight to the death.'
Matt continued: 'It has been a long time coming, this tour. Fans have wanted this. There's a massive crossover in the fanbases but secretly I think everyone likes Busted more.'
Meanwhile McFly is made up of Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter.
Charlie, who had hits including Crashed The Wedding and You Said No with Busted, explained: '[McBusted] was a different thing. This is very much, we're doing it as two different bands.
'The way we've set up the show is different to a normal show. It's not a co-headline tour and there are going to be some surprises along the way which people genuinely won't have seen before.'
McFly achieved 18 consecutive UK top 20 singles, seven of which peaked at number one in the UK Singles Chart. They also won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Pop Act.
Meanwhile, Busted from Southend-on-Sea, enjoyed four UK number one singles, won two Brit Awards, and sold over five million records worldwide.
The two noughties bands explained how they will battle it out on a 14-date tour to be crowned the best (pictured in 2015)
McFly is made up of Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, Danny Jones and Harry Judd (pictured L-R)
In 2013, the two bands combined to become a six-piece pop-punk supergroup called McBusted, albeit without lead vocalist and guitarist Charlie Simpson, who wanted to focus on his rock band Fightstar and a solo career.
Initially, the new group scheduled eleven concerts for April and May 2014 but, due to high demand, this was extended to 34 shows. They also headlined Hyde Park later that year.
In June 2014, the band made their international debut by supporting One Direction on their Where We Are Tour in Denmark.
Their success led them to support One Direction as special guests on the Australian and European legs of their On the Road Again Tour.
McBusted continued to thrive as they signed with Island Records in October 2014 and unveiled their debut single, Air Guitar, which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 12.
Their eponymous album reached its peak at number nine on the charts, and in 2015, the band went on tour for a second time, playing 21 shows across the UK.
However, later that year, it was announced that Charlie Simpson would be rejoining Busted following 10 years away from the band. As a result, the members of McBusted went their separate ways.
