McFly is being let down by the British public. When's the last time you actually listened to McFly? Not in passing at a shop or during a viral clip, but actively putting on their music. This question came to mind while attending their gig at the new London venue, British Airways ARC, on Thursday night.
Though always more of a Busted fan, I've considered myself a McFly enthusiast since first hearing '5 Colours in Her Hair' on the radio in the 2000s. Yet, standing in the crowd as Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd, and Tom Fletcher gave their all on stage, I felt like an imposter. The show was fantastic, but I had the heartbreaking realization that I had lost touch with McFly over time.
The saddest part is that I suspect I'm not alone. For a band considered one of the best live acts around, the British public is letting McFly down. They opened their Kensington Olympia show with the 2023 track 'Where Did All the Guitars Go?', a defiant number lamenting the lack of bands in the charts. It's an ode to live music and real instruments, feeling even more poignant three years later in the face of AI-generated music. The band sings: 'Who's gonna play for the kids with long hair/ When nobody cares?/ How will they cope with the pain?/ Don't you know that rock n' roll is good for the soul?'
For years, there has been a serious drought of bands in the singles charts. The Beatles' 'Now and Then' marked the last time a band reached number one in November 2023, and before that, Little Mix in 2021. McFly hasn't had a top 10 single since 'Love on the Radio' in 2013. Yet their 2020 and 2023 albums landed at number two on the album chart, their highest positions since 'Wonderland' hit number one in 2005. Critically, the albums and singles perform similarly—a mixed bag aside from their acclaimed debut—so quality isn't the issue.
While this could be partly due to the singles charts being harder to crack nowadays, it suggests the average Brit isn't casually listening. Despite releasing two charting albums recently and teasing another at the gig, we've allowed McFly to fall out of culture. Individually, each member remains relevant through musicals, reality TV, and some unfortunate scandals. Most people know of them and would say they like or even love McFly. But even as music lovers clamor for guitar bands, the actual music isn't on the radar the same way.
You'd think their popularity would have grown after the McBusted tours and comeback, given their rockier approach compared to pop-friendly early hits. Looking at the Kensington crowd, I wondered if misogyny plays a role, as the fandom remains predominantly women. Their appeal and self-confessed lack of a 'cool guy' persona often grouped them with cheesier boy bands like Busted and later 5 Seconds of Summer. While there's nothing wrong with being in a boy band, McFly has cited The Beach Boys, The Who, and even Prince as inspirations. The age range has widened over the years, with plenty of men rocking out, but the band's choice of Remember Monday as an opener suggests they know their audience well.
Sadly for the trio, the crowd didn't quite turn out, but I was pleasantly surprised by the latest song 'Delusional' after not warming to their Eurovision number. The track, filled with slightly stalkerish lyrics against their West End-ready vocals, was co-written by Danny and Dougie. It feels like a return to that 2000s sound, with opening guitars that would fit in any early Busted or McFly track, just with a girl band lyric makeover. Pop-rock may have fallen out of favor in the charts, but the music itself hasn't gone, and there's a reason that sound dominated the 2000s.
In dismissing their music as mid or too poppy, guitar fans are missing out on a damn good show. Ever the hype men, the band constantly played with the crowd, demanding we match their energy. As Danny and Tom broke into guitar solos, it was hard to ignore that under the silly antics, the quartet are talented musicians. It's time to ditch the snobbery or misogyny around their music and finally give McFly their flowers. With a new album in the works and the band cropping up across the UK for various shows, it's never been a better time to remember you're probably a McFly fan—even if you've forgotten to listen.
