{"id":350491,"date":"2025-12-15T17:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T17:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350491\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T17:46:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T17:46:09","slug":"the-time-has-come-to-properly-address-my-illnesses-and-deal-with-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/350491\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe time has come to properly address my illnesses and deal with them\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biffy Clyro<\/a> have shared that bassist James Johnston will be sitting out of their upcoming tour dates to focus on his mental health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The update was posted by the bassist on social media this afternoon (Monday December 15), where he told fans that he was \u201cheartbroken\u201d to not be taking part in the band\u2019s upcoming 2026 live shows \u2013 kicking off in Belfast in January<\/a>. He also added that, \u201cfor some time, I have been living with mental health problems which have led to addiction issues\u201d.<\/p>\n

These issues, he explained, are something that he has \u201ckept concealed for a long time\u201d and have started to cause \u201csignificant problems for myself and everyone around me\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time has come to properly address my illnesses and deal with them,\u201d he continued. \u201cI am extremely sorry to Simon [Neil, frontman] & Ben [Johnston, his twin brother and the band\u2019s drummer] and thank them for their continued love, patience, support and understanding throughout this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have recently started to receive the professional help I need and would like to reassure you all that there is light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d James concluded. \u201cTo all our fans, your support means so much to me and in the meantime, our dear friend Naomi Macleod will be taking care of bass duties, and I cannot think of a better person for the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naomi Macleod also performs with Bitch Falcon<\/a>, and played bass with frontman Simon Neil\u2019s side-project Empire State Bastard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

James has been bravely open<\/a> about overcoming depression to find his way back to the band to make their new album \u2018Futique\u2019<\/a>, all while the band questioned if they were \u201cstill an artistic concern?\u201d as Neil told NME earlier this summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It took \u201ca journey and a nightmare\u201d to reach a place where they could go on, they explaiend, before the Scottish alt-rock veterans asked themselves if it was all really worth it and if their hearts were in it. \u201cWe took everything for granted,\u201d James told NME, while his twin brother and drummer Ben added: \u201cThere\u2019s always a fear that this amazing thing could end.\u201d<\/p>\n

James continued: \u201cWe were scratching around trying to figure out who we were. I suppose everyone does that in periods of growing up, but being in a band, there\u2019s no space to grow up because you\u2019re too busy. \u2018Who am I? I\u2019m not 15 anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BiffyBiffy Clyro, 2025. Credit: Eva Pentel<\/p>\n

The tour dates scheduled by Biffy Clyro for 2026 culminate with a massive gig to 40,000 fans at London\u2019s Finsbury Park<\/a> next July. This will mark their biggest headline slot to date, and will see them joined by special guests Nothing But Thieves<\/a>, Don Broco<\/a>, Marmozets<\/a> and more.<\/p>\n

They have a handful of festival slots planned for the summer too, including a slot alongside Florence + The Machine<\/a>, Lewis Capaldi<\/a>, SOMBR<\/a>, and Twenty One Pilots<\/a> at Sziget 2026<\/a>, and a headline stop at Noches del Bot\u00e1nico in Madrid.<\/p>\n

All of those shows will follow the Scottish rock icons playing a UK and Ireland arena tour at the start of the new year<\/a>, where they will be joined by Soft Play<\/a> and The Armed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tour comes in celebration of their acclaimed 10th album \u2018Futique<\/a>\u2019, which was released earlier this year. That record was given a glowing four-star review<\/a> from NME and described as \u201cone of their most personal and definitive records to date\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a vulnerability met with a forward motion; a feeling of three friends shining light through the cracks to find a renewed sense of purpose,\u201d it read. \u201cYou can holler \u2018Mon the Biff!\u2019 for a while longer, it seems. A little love and a lot of noise goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in September, the band spoke to NME about the record<\/a>, and Neil described it as \u201carms-wide-open, defenceless, for better or worse, here it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Last month, Biffy caught up with NME again and shared insight into the plans for the Finsbury Park show<\/a>, hopes for more new music, and work on a \u2018Band Aid\u2019 style single for Scotland\u2019s World Cup bid.<\/p>\n

Talking about what it felt like to announce the massive gig over two decades into their career, the frontman told us about the strive to stay relevant over the years. \u201cHow is it even possible to be a three-white-boy rock band in 2025 when we\u2019re in such a dynamic and progressive time? I\u2019m very wary of where we sit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all listen to a lot of new music and it\u2019s really important to keep your ear to what\u2019s fucking happening and all the exciting shit. That\u2019s why bands fail \u2013 they have their five or 10 year golden period of their own music and still aspire to the same old shit,\u201d Neil added. \u201cThe foundation of your music inspiration doesn\u2019t change, but you\u2019ve got to keep adding to that foundation to be inspired or else it will just fucking dissipate.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Johnston agreed, adding: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep taking risks. You\u2019ve got to have something new to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

For further help and advice on mental health:\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Biffy Clyro have shared that bassist James Johnston will be sitting out of their upcoming tour dates to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,114341,216,3,1740],"class_list":{"0":"post-350491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-lets-talk-mental-health","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}