Live Review: McFly – 19th April 2013 – Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon, UK
4 min read
McFly have been a part of the music industry for nearly a decade and with seven number ones, a bestselling book and winning reality TV appearances the boys have a secure and obsessed fan base. With the release of their greatest hits last year it was only right that they did a Memory Lane tour.
Opening night was in Swindon, a small all-standing venue where the fans could really get close to the band and feel connected to the show. The age range of the audience was vast as there were still groups of giggling, excited teenage girls as well as hipster 20 something boys. Mums and dads had brought their kids along and a lot of boyfriends had been dragged by their girlfriends BUT you could tell it wasn’t against their will.
A loyal and long standing friend of the band introduced the support act The Vamps and spoke to the crowd between them and McFly. Anthony (who was once in boyband V) has been a backing singer for the band in recent years and was more or less given the job to get the crowd ready to have fun and ‘build their own memories’, a nice added extra to build suspense.
Then Tom, Danny and Dougie walked onto a dimly lit stage and sang the chorus of Memory Lane in a choir type fashion, dressed in matching suits and it sounded lovely. The red curtain dropped revealing an old school cinema scene with ‘McFly Swindon April 19th’ which will evidently change on every date.
That Girl was the opening track and McFly were clearly over excited and keen to get this tour started and perform around the country. They impressed their dedicated following by playing all the old classics including Obviously, Star Girl and the always underestimated and fabulous Room On The Third Floor.
Considering it was a ‘Best Of’ tour the songs weren’t all released singles. There were a large amount of songs from the album their fourth album and a surprise appearance from ‘Corrupted’ which is a great and rather rocky song so must be a fan favourite if it was added to the set list.
Dougie and Harry left the stage leaving Tom to take to the piano while Danny sang the sweet and slow Bubblewrap. This was followed by a slowed down ballad version of the number one single I’ll Be Okay which really gave the boys a chance to show their incredibly versatile voices.
What happened next was utterly bizarre and totally unexpected. A microphone descended from the ceiling and Danny Jones started getting the crowd to sing with him but it was mostly random and silly gibberish.
Danny was running around like an enthusiastic child and then he said “Can I get a sailor hat for Tom” and seconds later Tom was rocking a sailor hat, and the same happened when he said “Can I get a cowboy hat for Dougie, Can I get a builder’s hat for Harry” and before the crowd knew it they were playing YMCA and Danny was in a full Indian headdress. McFly definitely know how to have fun and be ridiculous which is nice.
The encore began with the spotlight on Tom’s pink ukulele so everyone knew was coming, they returned to the stage and sang their latest single Love Is Easy which would be the perfect wedding song. This was followed by the ever popular All About You and the show ended with The Heart Never Lies in which Tom changed the lyrics to – “It’s not always easy, but McFly’s here forever”.
McFly had hilarious on stage banter throughout the show as Dougie and Tom both got bras thrown at them and Danny received a pair of knickers. Dougie had learnt the word ‘promiscuous’ that day and used it throughout the show when possible. Harry piped up every now and again to make fun of the boys and get some attention as he is always left at the back, but obviously never forgotten.
The Memory Lane Tour is set to be one of their best yet, all the hits in one show make it a nostalgic and entertaining event. Nobody can deny this band their ability to put on a show and play their instruments incredibly. It’s simply four best friends on stage and having the time of their lives.
McFly have stood the test of time and their enthusiasm and excitement proves that they aren’t going anywhere! After nearly a decade in pop Harry, Danny, Dougie and Tom have definitely still got it.
