Biography

Introduction

McFly are a British pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band members are: Tom Fletcher (lead vocals–guitar), Danny Jones (lead vocals–guitar), Dougie Poynter (vocals–bass guitar) and Harry Judd (drums). They are managed by Prestige Management, and were signed to the Island Records label from their launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records.. The band rose to fame after fellow teen-pop band Busted helped launch them by inviting them to tour in March 2004.

McFly's debut album, Room on the 3rd Floor, debuted at #1 in the UK album chart and is certified as double platinum; this led to the band becoming known as the youngest band ever to have an album debut at #1 – a title taken from The Beatles. A month after the album was released, the band had their first UK headlining tour. The band's second album, Wonderland, also charted at #1 in the UK, and was released in 2005. Their third album, Motion in the Ocean, was released on 6 November 2006 and charted at #6 in the UK. McFly released their All the Greatest Hits compilation album on 5 November 2007, which charted at #4 in the UK. The band's fourth studio album, Radio:Active, was given away for free as a supplement in The Mail on Sunday on 20 July 2008, before being released in the conventional manner (via physical release) on 22 September 2008. As of December 2008, McFly have had sixteen consecutive top twenty singles, seven of which reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart and fifteen of which were consecutive top ten singles.

McFly appeared in the teen comedy film Just My Luck, starring Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine, in 2006. The band played themselves in the film and released a US album, Just My Luck, which was also used as the film's soundtrack. The group have also performed at various charity projects such as Comic Relief, Children In Need, Live 8 and Sport Relief.

History

Formation

McFly was founded and named by frontman Tom Fletcher, after he auditioned for Busted but lost out on the place to Charlie Simpson (who later went on to co-found post-hardcore band Fightstar). Originally, Fletcher was accepted as part of Busted's line-up; however, the Island record label went on to reassess the situation, eventually deciding to have the band as a threesome rather than a foursome. Fletcher states that he was in the band "for approximately 24 hours."^{[citation needed]} Though the record label decided against offering Fletcher a place in Busted, they were intrigued by his song-writings talents, and later offered him a place on the Busted songwriting 'team', alongside band member (and already accomplished songwriter) James Bourne; Fletcher has since stated that it was Bourne who taught him how to "properly" structure songs, and how to "come up with good, poppy melodies".^{[citation needed]}

During the writing project for Busted's second album, A Present For Everyone, Fletcher was asked by the record label if he was available to film auditions for a new band, V. It was at this time that Danny Jones and Fletcher met for the first time; Jones went to the audition mistaking the band to be an instrumental band, rather than the conventional, all-singing, all-dancing boy band, for which they were intended. Fletcher was impressed with Jones's unique style, and so approached and invited him to write with himself and Bourne. When writing projects for Busted had come to an end, the two began collaborating for their own (as of yet, unnamed) band, and, eventually, moved into the InterContinental Hotel in London for two months,(whilst still receiving help from Bourne) to concentrate on writing together. Bassist Dougie Poynter and drummer Harry Judd were subsequently recruited via a classified advertisement in the NME magazine. Both Essex lads, the pair turned up, coincidentally, at the same audition, and got to talking over their shared appreciation of the band The Starting Line, after Poynter noticed their name and logo was printed on Judd's t shirt. The name McFly was eventually decided upon as the band name. Fletcher proposed the idea, based on his love for the American science-fiction comedy Back to the Future trilogy and Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly.

Room on the 3rd Floor

McFly's early sound was pop music. Their debut single, "5 Colours in Her Hair", released 29 March 2004, entered the UK Singles Chart at #1 in April 2004 and stayed there the following week. In July 2004 their second single, "Obviously", also topped the charts. This was followed by the album Room on the 3rd Floor debuting at #1 in the UK Albums Chart. It would go on to be certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album broke records, as McFly earned an award from Guinness World Records for being the youngest band to have a debut album enter the charts in the top position, a distinction previously held by The Beatles. The idea for the album name came from where Jones and Fletcher wrote most of the songs for the album: room 363 in the InterContinental Hotel in London. The third single, "That Girl", was released on 6 September 2004, placing at #3. The fourth single, Room on the 3rd Floor, the album's title track, was released on 15 November 2004 and reached #5. McFly supported Busted on their nationwide arena tour along with V in February 2004 and then had their first headlining tour in September 2004.

Wonderland

In March 2005, McFly released a double A-side of "All About You/You've Got a Friend" from their second album, Wonderland, which featured a 60-piece orchestra. The single reached #1 for a week on 13 March 2005, with all profits donated to Comic Relief. The video for "You've Got a Friend" was shot in Uganda, Africa, which McFly visited for the charity appeal. Several months later, on 2 July, McFly co-headlined Live 8 Japan, with Björk and Good Charlotte. The second single from Wonderland, "I'll Be OK", was released in the UK on the 15 August 2005 and scored them their fourth UK #1. The album itself was released on 29 August 2005 entering at #1. The third single from Wonderland, "I Wanna Hold You", was released on 17 October 2005, giving them their sixth top three single. Their fourth and final single, "Ultraviolet/The Ballad of Paul K" from Wonderland was released on 12 December 2005 and reached #9. McFly headlined their Wonderland Arena Tour, which started on 15 September, 2005, supported by Tyler James and Famous Last Words. A DVD of the tour, recorded live at the MEN Arena in Manchester, was released on 28 November. The band also played at the 2005 Royal Variety Performance. Nemesis, an inverted roller coaster at the Alton Towers theme park was renamed Wonderland for a month in 2005 to celebrate the album's release. The band were filmed riding Nemesis with competition winners by music show CD:UK.

Just My Luck

In 2006, McFly turned their attentions to America, appearing in the Lindsay Lohan movie Just My Luck, released on 12 May, three days after the soundtrack of the movie, which comprised McFly songs taken from both Room on the Third Floor and Wonderland, as well as a new version of "Five Colours In Her Hair". The band played several gigs in Los Angeles and New York, as well as attending the American premiere of Just My Luck in Hollywood.

Motion in the Ocean

McFly's first single of 2006 was "Please Please", released in the UK as a double A-side with a cover of the Queen hit "Don't Stop Me Now" on 17 July as the official song for Sport Relief 2006. It reached #1 in the UK charts on 23 July, making it the band's fifth #1 single of their career. On 14 September 2006, it was confirmed via an email newsletter from McFly's official website, that the third album would be called Motion in the Ocean. The album was released on 6 November 2006, and reached #6. The second release from the album, "Star Girl" was released on 23 October 2006, to promote the album. "Star Girl" reached #1 in its first week. The third release from the album, "Sorry's Not Good Enough/Friday Night", was released on 18 December 2006, and reached #3 in the UK singles charts. "Friday Night" is featured in the movie Night at the Museum, which was released on 22 December 2006, in Canada and the US and 26 December 2006, in the UK. Their next single, "Baby's Coming Back/Transylvania", was released on the 7 May 2007, becoming the band's seventh #1. The original single release date was due to be 26 February, but the band took up the offer to return at that time to the town of Kamwokya in Uganda, which they previously visited for Comic Relief in 2005. "Baby's Coming Back/Transylvania" holds the record for the biggest fall from number one for a non-limited edition single. It fell from #1 to #20 after a week, matching a limited edition Elvis Presley single, "One Night".

McFly held their Motion in the Ocean tour from 17 September 2006 and were supported by The Click Five and Nylon. They also held their McFly Up Close and Personal tour, supported by Lil' Chris, which started on 20 March 2007, and consisted of performing in twenty four locations not covered by their arena tours over thirty four dates. Motion in the Ocean was re-released as a double disc edition with "Baby's Coming Back" and DVD from the Wembley show on 14 May 2007 and reached #14.

2007: All the Greatest Hits

McFly's All the Greatest Hits compilation album was released on 5 November 2007 and reached #4 in the charts. The first single from the album, The Heart Never Lies, which reached #3 in the UK singles chart, was premiered at the V Festival in August. The album also featured two new songs alongside "The Heart Never Lies": "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Don't Wake Me Up". The band went on a 26-date Greatest Hits tour for a month, starting near the end of November 2007. supported by Elliot Minor and Saving Aimee, in order to promote the album.
On February 23 and March 1 2008, they performed two small gigs at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney, Australia while recording Radio:Active. They performed the same set list as for their Greatest Hits tour. It was here where they recorded the crowd singing "we don't care" which was later used on their single "One for the Radio".^{[citation needed]} A compilation album of B-Sides was also released on 3 December 2007, The Greatest Bits: B-Sides & Rarities, which contains 12 B-sides of their UK singles.

Radio:ACTIVE

On 20 May 2008 McFly confirmed that their fourth studio album would be titled Radio:Active (typeset as Radio:ACTIVE). It was recorded in Australia, and given away for free as a supplement in The Mail on Sunday on 20 July 2008. It was subsequently released in stores on 22 September 2008 with four additional tracks, a DVD and a 32-page booklet. The album was announced after McFly confirmed that they had left Island Records as they were unhappy with some of the decisions that the label was making for them. Since announcing the launch of their new record label, the band have said that they "won't rule out" signing other acts, but that for the moment they're just concentrating on releasing their "own stuff". Radio:Active mixes their love of vintage rock with a British twist on the modern pop-rock sound. The first single released from the Radio:Active album was "One for the Radio", a song about as the band's "constant struggle for critical acceptance". The single was premiered on BBC Radio 1's Switch with Nick Grimshaw on 1 June 2008 and was released on 14 July, 2008. As of the 25 June, 2008, "One for the Radio" was included in Radio 1's A list, meaning that it receives primary airplay during the daytime. The single charted at number #2 in the charts. The album was recorded, and produced in Australia. McFly performed a showcase concert on 10 July 2008 at Shepherds Bush Empire and performed another concert at KOKO on 24 July, 2008 as part of the iTunes Live Festival '08. An EP of the performance, released August 4, 2008, was made available to download from the iTunes store. The second single from the album, "Lies" was released on 15 September 2008 and reached #4 in the charts. McFly have currently embarked on their 2008 arena tour, starting from 7 November, 2008, attending 14 dates., supported by manufactured pop band Avenue and Indie pop rock band Reemer. They also performed four concerts in Brazil from 5 October, 2008 to 11 October, 2008. The third single from the album was "Do Ya/Stay With Me", released 23 November, 2008. The song was released in aid of 2008's Children In Need and reached #18 in the UK Singles Chart, the lowest charting position of any of their singles to date, and their first single not to reach Top 10. McFly achieved their third number 1 DVD with the Radio:Active Tour DVD on 17 May 2009.

Super Records

Super Records Ltd. is an independent label operated and owned by McFly. Initially McFly were signed to major record outlet Universal Island Records. Although leaving Universal, McFly's singles are distributed by a company named "Absolute" who also distribute for acts like Cascada and Jay Sean and are part of the Universal Group. Super Records was created after McFly decided to leave Island, Universal Records at the end of 2007.

Cover songs

McFly have recorded and performed a variety of officially released and unreleased cover versions of well-known songs.

2003 – 2004

McFly collaborated with Busted for a cover of The Kinks' song "Lola" (which was a B-side on the "5 Colours in Her Hair" single) and a version of "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations from Busted's "Crashed the Wedding" single. Their cover of "Help!", originally by The Beatles, was featured on the "Obviously" single while "She Loves You", also by The Beatles, was featured on the "That Girl" single. The New Years' carol "Deck the Halls", and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", originally by Queen, were also featured on the "Room on the Third Floor" single. In December 2004, McFly performed "Little Saint Nick", originally by The Beach Boys, on the EastEnders Christmas Special.

2005

McFly released "You've Got a Friend", originally by Carole King, which they recorded as part of the official 2005 Comic Relief song, along with "All About You", where the video sees the band visiting children in Uganda affected by AIDS. McFly also recorded the 2004 hit "Mr Brightside", originally by The Killers, which is featured on the "I Wanna Hold You" single, and "I Predict a Riot", originally by the Kaiser Chiefs, which they performed at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge session and is featured on the "Ultraviolet" single. McFly teamed up with Roger Daltrey of The Who in September, 2005 to re-record the 1965 hit, "My Generation" to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust and to launch HMV Digital's new download service. They also released a cover of The Who's "Pinball Wizard" on the single "I'll Be OK" with a video.

2006

McFly performed a version of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" at The Prince's Trust on 20 May 2006. They released a cover of "Don't Stop Me Now", originally by Queen, which was recorded to raise money for Sport Relief 2006 as the official song along with "Please, Please". When performing this cover on their Motion in the Ocean tour, they were joined onstage by Queen guitarist Brian May at Wembley Arena, who also performed the opening riff to "5 Colours in Her Hair". Matt Willis also joined McFly to play "Don't Stop Me Now" at Wembley Arena and the Manchester Evening News Arena. Also on the tour, they performed "Fight for Your Right (To Party)", originally by the Beastie Boys and the "Ghostbusters" theme tune, originally by Ray Parker Jr. A few weeks later, they opened Children in Need 2006 with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. They also covered "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. The song "Rockin' Robin", originally by Bobby Day, was performed at the Top of the Pops Christmas Special and was also featured on the "Sorry's Not Good Enough/Friday Night" single.

2007

On 23 February 2007, McFly performed Primal Scream's "Rocks" with Charlotte Church on The Charlotte Church Show. They also covered "Baby's Coming Back", originally by Jellyfish, which they released as a double A-side to "Transylvania". McFly recorded the song "You're the One That I Want" from Grease for an album which was in aid of The Association of Children's Hospices and was recorded in five days, Over the Rainbow. McFly were among a forty artists who recorded a track for Radio 1’s birthday celebrations, covering The Jam classic "Town Called Malice", to feature on the compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967. The hit Rihanna song, "Umbrella", was also covered by McFly for the single, "The Heart Never Lies", and also had a video created for it. They also covered Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.

2008

McFly performed "The Winner Takes It All", originally by ABBA, at the London 2012 Olympic Visa Party on 24 August, 2008 and an acoustic version of the song was featured on the Lies single. The band also performed "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 10 September, 2008. McFly also covered "Stay With Me", originally by Rod Stewart and The Faces as a double A side with "Do Ya" as the official 2008 Children in Need single. McFly also performed a cover of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" on their Radio:Active tour, which was sung just by Danny Jones.

2009

McFly toured the UK with their "Up Close...and This Time It's Personal" from 21 April to 10 May and covered Girls Aloud's' "The Promise".

Television and film appearances

In January 2005, the band guest-starred in an episode of the long-running British drama series Casualty. In May 2006, they starred in the teen comedy film Just My Luck with Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine, which was released in the US on 12 May 2006 and in the UK on 30 June 2006. They play themselves in the film and the soundtrack features a variety of their songs from their first two albums. The band also recorded another song, "Just My Luck", which was to be included on the US-only album release of the same name. McFly held a concert at the London Hammersmith Apollo on 19 May 2005 which was used in the film. The UK premiere of the film took place on 28 June, 2006 in London. The film generally did not receive good reviews, gaining a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. On 16 March 2007, McFly guest starred in the Top Gear comic relief show Top Gear of the Pops, where they were given a challenge to come up with a song from scratch without using the words 'love', 'baby', or 'heart'. In addition, they had to include in the song the words 'sofa', 'administration', and 'Hyundai'. Near the end of the show they performed the song they named 'Sofa Hyundai Administration'.

On 23 June 2007, McFly made a cameo appearance in an episode of the science fiction series Doctor Who. The episode "The Sound of Drums", saw the band appearing in a spoof party political broadcast, which featured testimonials from British celebrities such as McFly and Sharon Osbourne showing their support for Mr Saxon to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On 22 October 2007, McFly hosted the first annual Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards. McFly also appeared on the show Ghosthunting with... in 2007.

On 27 May 2008 McFly appeared on Gordon Ramsay's The F Word as the celebrity guests and cooked a three course meal for 50 customers. Their score was that 115 out of 150 dishes were paid for. On 20 July 2008, McFly also played at T4 on the Beach in Weston-super-Mare.

McFly's performance at KOKO on 24 July 2008, as part of the iTunes Live Festival '08, was broadcast at Vue cinemas across the UK on the same day.

On 25 August 2008, McFly performed at the London 2012 Olympic Visa Party.

On the 14 of December 2008, McFly were the headline music act for Miss World in South Africa, which had a predicted worldwide audience of over 2 billion viewers. Their hits 5 Colours In Her Hair and Lies were played during the show.

They appeared in teen soap Hollyoaks on Channel 4 on Friday May 8 2009 performing in the SU Bar with The Somethings as a support group.

On the 31 of May 2009, McFly performed at the biggest tv show in Brazil “Domingão do Faustão” which had a predicted audience of over 30 million viewers.

On the 15 of June 2009, McFly performed at a Jonas Brothers Concert in Wembley. They performed Star Girl.

Discography

Album information
Room on the 3rd Floor Released: 5 July, 2004 (UK & Ireland)
Wonderland Released: 29 August, 2005 (UK & Ireland)
Just My Luck Released: 12 May, 2006 (US)
Motion in the Ocean Released: 6 November, 2006 (UK & Ireland)
All the Greatest Hits Released: 5 November, 2007 (UK & Ireland) Released: 20 May, 2008 (Brazil)
Radio:Active Released: 20 July, 2008 (Free with The Mail on Sunday) (UK & Ireland) Released:September/October, 2008 (UK & Brazil) Released: March 2009(Colombia,Mexico) To Release: July 2009 (Chile,Colombia & Argentina)