Biffy Clyro have shared that bassist James Johnston will be sitting out of their upcoming tour dates to focus on his mental health.
The update was posted by the bassist on social media this afternoon (Monday December 15), where he told fans that he was “heartbroken” to not be taking part in the band’s upcoming 2026 live shows – kicking off in Belfast in January. He also added that, “for some time, I have been living with mental health problems which have led to addiction issues”.
These issues, he explained, are something that he has “kept concealed for a long time” and have started to cause “significant problems for myself and everyone around me”.
“The time has come to properly address my illnesses and deal with them,” he continued. “I am extremely sorry to Simon [Neil, frontman] & Ben [Johnston, his twin brother and the band’s drummer] and thank them for their continued love, patience, support and understanding throughout this time.”
“I 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,” James concluded. “To 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.”
Naomi Macleod also performs with Bitch Falcon, and played bass with frontman Simon Neil’s side-project Empire State Bastard.
James has been bravely open about overcoming depression to find his way back to the band to make their new album ‘Futique’, all while the band questioned if they were “still an artistic concern?” as Neil told NME earlier this summer.
It took “a journey and a nightmare” 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. “We took everything for granted,” James told NME, while his twin brother and drummer Ben added: “There’s always a fear that this amazing thing could end.”
James continued: “We 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’s no space to grow up because you’re too busy. ‘Who am I? I’m not 15 anymore.”
The tour dates scheduled by Biffy Clyro for 2026 culminate with a massive gig to 40,000 fans at London’s Finsbury Park next July. This will mark their biggest headline slot to date, and will see them joined by special guests Nothing But Thieves, Don Broco, Marmozets and more.
They have a handful of festival slots planned for the summer too, including a slot alongside Florence + The Machine, Lewis Capaldi, SOMBR, and Twenty One Pilots at Sziget 2026, and a headline stop at Noches del Botánico in Madrid.
All of those shows will follow the Scottish rock icons playing a UK and Ireland arena tour at the start of the new year, where they will be joined by Soft Play and The Armed.
The tour comes in celebration of their acclaimed 10th album ‘Futique’, which was released earlier this year. That record was given a glowing four-star review from NME and described as “one of their most personal and definitive records to date”.
“There’s a vulnerability met with a forward motion; a feeling of three friends shining light through the cracks to find a renewed sense of purpose,” it read. “You can holler ‘Mon the Biff!’ for a while longer, it seems. A little love and a lot of noise goes a long way.”
Back in September, the band spoke to NME about the record, and Neil described it as “arms-wide-open, defenceless, for better or worse, here it is.”
Last month, Biffy caught up with NME again and shared insight into the plans for the Finsbury Park show, hopes for more new music, and work on a ‘Band Aid’ style single for Scotland’s World Cup bid.
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. “How is it even possible to be a three-white-boy rock band in 2025 when we’re in such a dynamic and progressive time? I’m very wary of where we sit,” he said.
“We all listen to a lot of new music and it’s really important to keep your ear to what’s fucking happening and all the exciting shit. That’s why bands fail – they have their five or 10 year golden period of their own music and still aspire to the same old shit,” Neil added. “The foundation of your music inspiration doesn’t change, but you’ve got to keep adding to that foundation to be inspired or else it will just fucking dissipate.”
James Johnston agreed, adding: “You’ve got to keep taking risks. You’ve got to have something new to say.”
