Fletcher, Jones, Poynter and Judd were just teenagers when they were discovered back in 2003. Almost 20 years later, nearly all of the band members have wives, kids and families of their own. I think one of the reasons McFly are still so significant to a lot of people is due to the fact that we have all grown up with them. I became a fan aged 6 when I received their CD as a gift – I would sing ‘Five Colours In Her Hair’ into my hairbrush whilst stood in my bedroom. At nearly 25 years old I’m still doing exactly that... in my own home (I reckon I’ll still be doing this when I turn 60!)
We had the absolute pleasure of heading to Doncaster Racecourse to watch McFly’s set on Saturday 13th August. When we arrived, masses of people were ‘dressed up to the nines’ and had attended the full race day. As McFly’s set time got closer, folks and families of all ages began to gather by the stage that was situated just beside of the racecourse. The crowd were already buzzing well before the band came on, ‘Giogiobbo’ had just won the final race, the sun was beaming beautifully, AND McFly were about to come on, who wouldn't be giddy?! "YMCA’ suddenly boomed out of the speakers and thousands of people participated in the synchronised dance together, not brilliantly I might add, but it was bloody funny to watch.
The band took to the stage and began their set with ‘Red’ and ‘One for the Radio’. In the 30-degree heat, the boys made a comment about it possibly being the hottest show they’d ever played (I’m not surprised, as the stage was pointing directly towards the blistering sun!). The lads continued to smash it nonetheless and provided us with some of their most-iconic tracks such as: ‘Lies’, ‘Obviously’, ‘Star Girl’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Room on the 3rd Floor’, ‘Transylvania’, and ‘Shine a Light’ (along with a few more).
‘Room on the 3rd Floor’ stole the show for me, it’s a great tune to sing-along to with your mates, it filled me with nostalgia hearing it played live, and let’s be honest, it’s an absolute BANGER!
In their boisterous ways, lots of laughs and banter were exchanged with the audience throughout the entirety of the set and the crowd projected a sea of smiling faces.
One of the loveliest things about the show was witnessing lots of young kids, no older than 10, sat up on their parents’ shoulders whilst rocking out to every tune, singing along and shredding it on their inflatable guitars! It was a special sight and proves how loved this band are by people of all ages, and I believe it will carry on this way for a very long time.
Another personal highlight was when the guys played ‘Star Girl’, one of their most popular songs, it definitely ‘hit me in the feels’ and reminded me of a Mcfly bracelet that bought from concert merch stand back when I was younger. The bracelet read ‘I AM A GALAXY DEFENDER’ – and yes, I know what you’re thinking and NO, I’m not embarrassed (well ok, maybe slightly) – seriously though, I wish still had it, it was kind of iconic.
A thunder of applause and cheers rumbled through the racecourse after McFly departed from the stage. They ran back on not minutes later, to play a solid encore, consisting of three iconic tracks: ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ (Queen Cover), ‘All About You’, and ‘5 Colours In Her Hair’, before exiting the racecourse stage for the final time. As always, Harry threw his drumsticks into the crowd whist lots of eager fans scurried around frantically to try and catch one!
We had a smashing time watching the lads, and a great evening at Donny Racecourse. We left the show in high spirits and really felt that ‘McFly charm’, I don’t know how they do it, but they do – EVERY TIME!
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