CityLife

McFly

McFly
MEN Arena
March 19, 2011

Fresh out of rehab and reunited with his bandmates, Dougie Poynter was back to his old self.

The 23-year-old – who had checked into celebrity treatment centre, The Priory. following his split from The Saturday’s Frankie Sandford – seemed to have put the troubles of the past month behind him.

The fans seemed relieved to have him back after the first three dates of the Above The Noise arena tour were cancelled while Dougie recovered from his heartbreak following revelations that his ex-girlfriend was dating Premiership footballer Wayne Bridge.

The biggest ear-piercing screams of the night were afforded to him and while this may have been the home-coming gig of sorts for Bolton-born Danny Jones, it was Dougie who took centre stage.

He bounced around the stage with his glowing bass, cajoled the crowd and even took the mic for Transylvania – and he was clearly happy to be back because he wore the biggest smile of the night.

It is two years since McFly performed in the city and the band, who first hit the charts in 2004 with Five Colours In Her Hair, have been keen to showcase a new grown-up sound.

The band have certainly gained an electo-edge to their music, exemplified in the pop-perfect Taio Cruz-penned Shine A Light, which brilliantly closed the show.

They have even adopted a hint of Motown in their eclectic setlist in the fantastic I Need a Woman, which has more than a hint of The Temptations classic My Girl about it.

But they have made sure not to alienate their younger audiences too much, kicking off with the upbeat Party Girl and performing an acoustic medley of two of their biggest hits Obviously and All About You.

The band even took to a special walkway lowered from the arena’s roof so they could be above the audience as they performed that debut hit, Five Colours. And Danny ditched the guitar and got rapping for a version of Tinie Tempah’s Pass Out.

This was an electrifying performance from a band that have refused to fade away and have tried to stay current.

The crowd lapped up every minute and must have left Dougie thinking, ‘Who needs a wannabe WAG anyway?’.

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