Hugely successful chart toppers McFly are currently celebrating 10 years in the industry by taking a trip down Memory Lane with their latest tour.
For their semi-final date, the show made its way to the seaside town of Brighton and after such a long time in the business it was clear to see that the band still have their army of fans right behind them. Many who have grown up with members Tom Fletcher, Harry Judd, Dougie Poynter and Danny Jones, as well as new faces were thrilled to be getting the chance to see the four piece up close in the flesh.
Warming up the crowd were British indie pop band The Vamps, as well as good friend and previous backing vocalist to McFly, Antony Thomas, (known as Mr Antastic,) who was on hand to try and entertain the hyped audience before the venue turned into hysteria. Doing a good job Ant cracked some funny jokes (and dance moves,) before breaking into the actions of ‘YMCA’, to lead up to the moment everyone had been waiting for…
As the lights darkened the suspense built. Danny, Tom and Dougie then walked onto the dimly lit stage where they started a harmonically rendition to the chorus of ‘Memory lane’. Suited and booted in a posh get up, with ties, but toned down with converse trainers completed the bands laid back rock look. Soon after the curtain behind fell to reveal drummer Harry Judd on his iconic kit and a spectacular vintage movie theme show sign lit up the stage, as well as McFly’s original logo light from their very first tour back in 2004.
‘That Girl’ was the chosen opening track, which was soon followed by early McFly songs ‘Obviously’, Room On The Third Floor’ and 2006 classic Star Girl, which was made extra special (along with ‘Lies’,) as a saxophonist, trumpeter and brass player imputed fantastic solo’s.
Part of the set was slowed down when Danny and Tom – who showed his multi talents by swapping his guitar for piano to sing a heart felt ‘Bubblewrap’ and ‘I’ll Be Okay’. After, Harry and Dougie soon returned to the stage for the band to burst into up-tempo, fan favourite ‘Smile’. Next was an unexpected surprise as a microphone lowered from the ceiling, Bolton born Danny then got the crowd repeating silly gibberish after him, which he made more difficult each time. Each band member then received a village people hat and formed a line to perform a rocking/brass medley consisting of ‘It’s Alright’, ‘YMCA’ and ‘Don’t Worry’, which definitely had parents and people of all ages up and on their feet (if they weren’t already that is!)
Through out the show the foursome belted out a number of their other well-known hits, including ‘Nowhere Left To Run’, ‘Falling In Love’, ‘One For The Radio’ and ‘Corrupted’ - which had legions of fans jumping with enthusiasm.
As always McFly provide hilarious banter throughout their shows and this was no different. From bass player Dougie telling the story of how the band formed in a rom-com theme, as well as Harry funnily banning the other band individuals from using his drum kit.
All good things have to come to an end and finishing on a high is definitely what the band achieved. With an encore of ‘Love Is Easy’, where guitarist and vocalist Tom played on a small pink ukulele, followed by ‘The Heart Never Lies’ and finally Comic Relief single ‘All About You’ had every fan chuffed that they had attended the Memory Lane – Best Of McFly Tour.
‘Go mad and forget all of your worries’ is what the guys declared when they graced the stage at 8:45pm and that is exactly what every audience member did. Not many bands are about now who have superb vocals, write their songs and play their own instruments. These hit makers deserve more credit for what they do, because after 10 years they are still going strong and have no intention of putting an end to that any time soon.
Published on 28 May 2013 by TasminAnderson
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