‘I saw McFly play live and now won’t bother watching Oasis – they can’t top them’ | Music | Entertainment
Forget about the Oasis reunion for a second, it’s all about y… McFly.
If you were able to get your hands on tickets for one of the two shows McFly performed at London’s O2 Arena, consider yourself extremely lucky. It’s hard to believe it’s been 21 years of Mcfly, yet it seems like barely any time has passed since the release of their debut single, ‘Five Colours in Her Hair’.
It’s safe to say Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd have changed over the last two decades, particularly their hair.
Fans were reminded of their iconic start-up look when they were taken on a trip down memory lane as McFly kicked off their first sold out show on Wednesday (October 9). The audience were greeted with montages of photos and videos from the group’s early days, played on the big screen to YMCA.
It was the perfect way to get the audience on their feet before the show started. And after 21 years, it looks as though McFly enjoy performing together more than ever.
It was only right that they kicked things off with a classic – and ‘Five Colours in her Hair’ is an obvious crowd pleaser. Loyal McFly fans will know the group, minus drummer Harry, rarely stand still, especially basist Dougie who began bounding across the length of the stage surrounding those standing.
And it wasn’t long before Danny and Tom made their way to the front of the stage with him. They went on to sing ‘I Wanna Hold You’ and ‘I Got You’, which famously features in the Linsday Lohan film ‘Just My Luck’.
The setlist turned out to be a perfect mix of nostalgic fan favourites, including ‘Star Girl’ and ‘Transylvania’, and songs from their new album, ‘Power to Play’. No matter what, the crowd sang every word.
While Tom, Danny and Dougie regularly addressed the crowd, it took nearly one hour for Harry to get involved. Tom repeatedly apologised to his fellow bandmate for not speaking to him, making it the perfect introduction for ‘Sorry’s Not Good Enough’.
I couldn’t quite contain my excitement when two of my personal favourites, One For the Radio and Falling in Love, were played. And it wouldn’t be a McFly concert without Tom’s pink ukelele, used when performing ‘Love is Easy’.
In another treat for fans, Danny began belting out Celine Dion’s ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’, the song he performed as Piranha during the 2024 series of The Masked Singer, which he went on to win.
He moved onto the stage in the centre of The O2 and was closely followed by his bandmates. This turned into an emotional moment, when Danny and Tom performed the first song they ever wrote together, ‘Room On The 3rd Floor’.
With McFly away from the main stage, this created the opportunity for the biggest surprise of the night.
After Dougie began hurling insults as pop band Busted, its members Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis and James Bourne stormed the main stage. They challenged the band to a head-to-head, confirming the two groups will be heading on tour for Busted vs McFly in 2025.
Fans’ joy almost turned to tears when they realised the concert was nearly over, with their penultimate song turning out to be ‘It’s All About You’.
McFly concluded their first show with an emotional rendition of ‘The Heart Never Lies’, altering lyrics in the song to say: “21 years are over, and we’re still together. It’s not always easy, but McFly’s here forever”.
With both Oasis and McFly performing in the UK in September 2025, I know where I’ll be going. Wednesday’s performance couldn’t be faulted – it was the perfect party to celebrate 21 years of McFly.
