Busted Vs McFly. My literal childhood favourite bands and I was thankful that the ‘team’ lanyard had both on because it really is hard to pick a side (thankfully you don’t really have to!).
I’ve seen both Busted and McFly (fun fact, my first gig was McFly’s first tour before I turned 10) a number of times but never together (I missed the McBusted shows) so I was excited to see them perform on the same stage and they did not disappoint.
Dougie getting the crowd going
With no opening act, it was a bit of a wait but as soon as McFly emerged on the stage, it set the scene for just over two hours of wall to wall bangers. McFly burst out with a range of hits from across their career, beginning with Where Did All the Guitars Go?, Star Girl and back to the old days with That Girl.
In an hour set, they crammed in loads including my favourite Transylvania which was combined in a medley with Lies.
The best part was the band’s on-stage antics. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been a band for more than 20 years, they’ve never lost that spark for fun, whether it’s little kicks across the stage, spins, or messing about with each other, there was never a dull moment.
Matt and Chris have some fun on stage
Within five minutes of McFly exiting the stage, Busted – minus James who is unwell and has had to miss the tour – arrive and kick straight in with Crashed the Wedding, Meet You There and You Said No.
I did find that they were missing James’ energy, with Matt not really having anyone to vibe off as Charlie has never really had that more upbeat and energetic performance, but he did delight.
A medley of Dawsons Geek, Britney, Nerdy and Why was a great way to capture the early days of Busted, before some of the more classic older tracks in Loser Kid (the most accurate song except for ending up with your teacher), Who’s David and Sleeping With the Light On.
The band addressed James’ absence and of course got a dig in about not choosing any of McFly to take his spot before introducing James’ little brother Chris to the stage who played guitar for a number of songs. It was nice to see him back on a stage as I last saw him perform in 2014 with his old band Hollywood Ending. However, we didn’t get to see him in a lab coat for Year3000 when it was played during the dual set, which would have been a great throwback!
After a high energy rendition of What I Go to School For, we said goodbye to Busted and hello to McFly’s Harry Judd and Busted drummer Eddy Thrower for a drum battle. I always love when drummers are able to show off on stage and seeing these two vibe off each other was great.
Seeing Busted and McFly together on stage was great
Dougie and Matt however stole the show, both appearing on opposite sides in the crowd, hurling insults and jokes at each other (some of which probably shouldn’t be repeated), before the crowd was split into team Dougie or team Matt. I always loved their little digs at each other during their individual shows so it was great to see them play off each other with the insults.
We then returned to the stage for Danny and Charlie to do acoustic versions of 3am and Not Alone, before both bands jumped into some of the classics like Air Hostess, 5 Colours in Her Hair, and closing with Year3000.
Busted and McFly performing together
It was definitely a night of fun and nostalgia, with more of a focus on the older songs from both bands. We really did miss James but Chris was a great stand in and a great night was had by all.