McFly's career through the years '5 Colours in Her Hair' to their 2023 tour
They've come a long way since '5 Colours in Her Hair'
McFly have had quite the career! With six albums, five of which reached the Top 10 in the UK, and seven Number 1 singles, and a new album due out later this year, we thought we'd take a look back at their impressive career.
From their debut hit '5 Colours in Her Hair' to their upcoming tour and album, take a look at how Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd, became BRIT Award winners McFly!
Take a look through McFly's career timeline:
2003 – McFly were created
McFly were created way back in 2003 with the current (and only line-up) of Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd. The band formed after Tom met Danny at some record label auditions for another band (V), which he was filming. Tom and Danny then worked together on their own music, before advertising for a bassist and drummer in NME, with Dougie and Harry completing the line-up.
The band is named after the Back to the Future character Marty McFly.
2004 – McFly joined Busted on tour
Tom initially auditioned for Busted, but was unsuccessful, however he continued to work with the band, writing for their second album.
Once McFly had formed, they joined Busted on tour and also enjoyed huge success with their debut album and single.
Their debut album 'Room on the 3rd Floor' was a Number 1 hit for the band which earned them the Guinness World Record for being the youngest band to have a debut album enter the charts in the top position, a record previously held by The Beatles!
Their debut single, '5 Colours In Her Hair' and its follow-up, 'Obviously' were also both Number 1 hits for the band.
2005 - McFly win a BRIT Award
McFly got the year off to a great start by winning a BRIT Award for Best British Pop Act.
In March of that year, the band also got their third Number 1 single with the double A side, 'All About You' / 'You've Got a Friend'. 'All About You' was a song written by Tom about his then girlfriend (now wife), I'm a Celeb winner Giovanna Fletcher.
McFly the released 'I'll Be OK' in August which became their fourth UK Number 1, closely followed by their second album 'Wonderland' which also reached Number 1.
2005 was also the year that the band went on 'The Wonderland Tour 2005' and performed at Live 8 Japan.
2006 - McFly released ‘Motion in the Ocean’ and went on tour
McFly continued their success with the release of their third album 'Motion In The Ocean' which reached Number 6 in the UK. The album spawned Number 1 hits such as their double A sides 'Don't Stop Me Now' / 'Please Please', and 'Baby's Coming Back' / 'Transylvania', and their single 'Star Girls'.
The band also took their album on 'Motion in the Ocean' on tour which included a gig at Wembley which was recorded for a DVD released the following year.
2007 - McFly release their ‘All The Greatest Hits’ album and go on tour twice
Although it didn't reach the top spot, the band's greatest hits album did reach Number 4 in the UK – pretty impressive! McFly also went on tour twice in 2007, for their 'Up Close and Personal' tour and their 'Greatest Hits' tour which saw them perform at venues across England.
2008 – McFly release their fourth album ‘Radio:Active’
In 2008, McFly released 'Radio:Active' which spawned two Top 5 hits, 'One For The Radio' and 'Lies', with the album itself going to Number 8 in the UK. The band also took their album on tour, starting in Brazil, before going touring the UK and Europe.
2010 – McFly release their fifth album ‘Above The Noise’
'Above The Noise' was the band's lowest performing album, however it still reached Number 20 in the UK. The album also featured their hits 'Party Girl' and 'Shine a Light' featuring Tiao Cruz.
2011 – Dougie wins I’m a Celeb
As well as going on tour in 2011, Dougie took part and won the 11th series of I'm a Celeb! Mark Wright and Fatima Whitbread were in second and third place that year.
As a band they did their 'Above the Noise Tour' which saw the band perform 30 shows across five legs including 14 across the UK.
2012 - Harry Judd was chosen to carry the Olympic torch
Ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, Harry Judd was chosen to carry the Olympic torch with his professional dance partner Aliona Vilani from Strictly Come Dancing, with whom he won the competition.
2013 – McBusted were created
Formed from Busted (minus Charlie Simpson) and all members of McFly, the supergroup McBusted were formed.
McFly also went on their 'Memory Lane' tour in 2013 which supported the band's second greatest hits album including hits 'I Wanna Hold You', 'Please, Please' and many more.
2014 – McBusted went on tour
McBusted went on tour in 2014 and supported One Direction on their European tour, continuing into 2015.
In October of that year they released their first song as a supergroup, 'Air Guitar', followed by their album 'McBusted'.
2016 – McFly start an indefinite hiatus
McFly decided to go their separate ways with an indefinite hiatus, later revealing the reason was jealously. Three members of the band had just finished their time as part of McBusted, and they were beginning to start their own solo projects. Tom became an author selling several kids books, Harry won Strictly Come Dancing and Danny released solo music.
2019 – McFly reformed with new album and tour
The band reunited for a one-off show at London's O2 Arena which was booked as a surprise by their manager in an effort to get the band back together, and it worked! The band booked a couple of months in the studio following their 'One Night Only' gig and began recording their sixth album.
2020 – McFly release their sixth album ‘Young Dumb Thrills’
Despite it being a massive 10 years since releasing their last album, McFly's comeback album was very popular reaching Number 2 in the charts.
2021 - ‘Young Dumb Thrills’ tour
In 2021 the band took their sixth album on tour, after it was rescheduled from their 2020 dates. They also did another gig at the O2 Arena called 'One Night Only... Again'.
2023 – McFly announced new music
In April 2023, the band revealed their new album would be called 'Power To Play' and they would be releasing a new song called 'Where Did All The Guitars Go?'.
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