Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd and Danny Jones make up McFly and have had seven UK number one singles. Their “Keep Calm and Play Louder” tour stopped off at Lincoln’s Engine Shed on Sunday, April 1st.
The night began with a three-song set list from Hertfordshire-based pop-punk band, “Count the Days,” who won their place as support through the “Battle of the Bands” competition. Summed up by the lead singer, it was “short, but sweet.”
The second support band, “Ivyrise,” also went down well with the crowd. However, it was their rock cover of Adele’s “Set Fire To The Rain” which was the highlight, providing a unique interpretation of one of last year’s biggest songs.
As the houselights faded, the sound of hundreds of screaming girls filled the Engine Shed. This was quickly followed by spotlights circulating around the room, as the British flag appeared on the screens at the back, accompanied by an instrumental version of “Rule Britannia.”
The night’s biggest screams greeted McFly as they took to the stage, going straight in to “Nowhere Left To Run” and a number of their hits, including “One For The Radio,” “Star Girl” and “I Wanna Hold You.”
The boys’ cheeky humour was evident very early on in the night as “I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here” winner, Dougie Poynter, announced that he had christened guitarist and lead vocalist, Tom Fletcher, as “Teabag Tom.”
Later in the show, Poynter revealed he had a magic trick where he could “magically” turn the LED lights off his guitar, only to be outdone by drummer and “Strictly Come Dancing” winner, Harry Judd, who turned his lights off by simply clicking his fingers.
McFly, who are working on their sixth studio album in the summer, performed a number of new tracks including “Do What You Want,” “Red” and “Touch The Rain.” These were very well received by the sell-out crowd.
Though it proved too much to handle for some, as a number of onlookers were hauled over the front barriers, causing the McFly boys to promptly burst in to Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust.”
The night continued with songs such as “Lies,” “Obviously” and “All About You,” though arguably the best reaction came from a pop medley, which featured hits: “Livin’ On A Prayer,” “We Found Love,” “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Somebody I Used To Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
McFly managed to maintain the same level of energy they had shown throughout the performance as they finished on their debut single, “Five Colours In Her Hair,” before leaving the stage.
Danny returned to the stage by himself for the encore, performing “Walk In The Sun” – a welcome change of pace to the night, before the rest of the band joined him for the final song of the night, “Shine A Light.”
McFly have been going strong for nine years and it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere just yet. Their energy and charisma is still as fresh as it was when they started and the band’s new tracks certainly have the potential to storm the charts.