2024 is a very special year for British pop-rock band McFly as they celebrate their 21st anniversary. To commemorate this incredible milestone, the band – made up of Danny Jones, Tom Fletcher, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter – held a gargantuan birthday party over the course of two nights at London’s O2 Arena.
On Thursday (October 10), we attended the second part of the celebration, where the four-piece band delivered a near three-hour set packed with classic McFly hits, deep cuts and fan favourites across their eight-album discography.
Opening with a montage of the band through the years, alongside a soundtrack of YMCA, this truly set the tone for the fun, energetic and chaotic evening ahead. Channelling their very own ‘Eras’ style show, McFly kicked off their huge set with their debut single ‘5 Colours in Her Hair’ before making their way through various tracks from Room on the 3rd Floor.
Throughout the evening, different albums were represented by various logo visuals on the stage with McFly playing all the hits from Wonderland, Motion in the Ocean, Radio:Active, Above the Noise and more. One of our favourite moments was ‘Transylvania’, where Dougie got to show off his vocals, whilst Danny and Tom also got up close and personal with fans on the B-stage at the back of the arena as they performed a medley. Danny also commandeered the crowd with an electric performance of ‘Red’ on the B-stage.
Nostalgia was rife throughout, and the energy didn’t dip once as McFly sang classics such as ‘Shine a Light’, ‘Star Girl’ and ‘I’ll Be Okay’ – with many of these songs offering plenty of singalong moments for the crowd. The band also performed album favourites including ‘Bubblewrap’, ‘iF U C Kate’, and ‘Honey I’m Home’, much to the delight of the dedicated audience. This near three-hour set was jam packed with well over 30 songs and was a fantastic showcase of their superb career to date.
During the evening, McFly revealed that the show was being filmed for an ITV special, which meant that Dougie had to be on his very best behaviour (as Harry reminded him) – although he still had his fun by referring to the O2 as the Millennium Dome! This tied in with Danny delivering a showstopping performance of ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ and the appearance of the Piranha from ITV’s The Masked Singer – the costume worn by Danny when he won the latest series of the show earlier this year.
The show came to an end with two of McFly’s most well known and loved songs – ‘All About You’ and ‘The Heart Never Lies’. Picking these two songs for the finale was a beautiful touch and acted as a love letter to the fans and the band itself. As the band sang “Another year over, and we’re still together, it’s not always easy but McFly’s here forever”, they received a rapturous applause from the crowd.
In fact, the everlasting love between the band and their fans was evident throughout the show. This was a true celebration of 21 sensational years and the Galaxy Defenders were out in force with many dressed in party hats and carrying balloons. We witnessed a fun conga in the OMFG Zone during ‘Happiness’ as well as an engagement during ‘Love Is Easy’ – the sense of community was really lovely to see and this was also addressed by the band on stage. They made it clear during the show that they adore their fans and are grateful for their continued support. They also expressed their love for each other – this is a band of brothers and we can’t wait to see their journey continue for another 21 years!
But what’s next for McFly? Next year will see them go head to head with fellow pop-rock icons Busted for a UK tour not to be missed. The Busted vs McFly Tour will see the two super groups visit some of the UK’s biggest and best venues, to play a back-to-back selection of their most loved hits. Tickets for the tour go on sale via artist pre-sale from 9am on 16th October here, and general tickets are on sale on 18th October at 9am here.