McFLy – Live Review – The Piece Hall, Halifax

By Christine Goode, August 2024

McFly returned to The Piece Hall in Halifax to play a second sell-out show. Their fans (Galaxy Defenders) of all ages were out in force to see the award-winning, chart-topping rockers.

We arrived just in time to see the support act, pop-punk artist NOAHFINNCE, who certainly had the crowd’s attention. No doubt, he will now acquire more followers after a very energetic performance — definitely one to watch in the future.

After a short break, the lights went down, the crowd let out a huge cheer, and the legendary foursome of Danny Jones, Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd quickly came out on stage, kicking off with hits from their latest album, ‘Where Did All The Guitars Go?’ and ‘Land Of The Bees’. The crowd went wild and instantly started singing along, jumping up and down with arms in the air, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. The hits kept coming as we enjoyed a 90-minute set featuring ‘Shine A Light’, ‘Lies’, ‘Happiness’, and ‘Obviously’ (my personal all-time favourite), to name just a few.

“Huge cheers”

The boys certainly know how to work a crowd and keep everyone happy as they frequently changed places between leaping around and displaying guitar stunts, all intensifying the electric atmosphere. Their personal friendships as a band really shone through, and it was great to see their connection, especially during ‘Room On The Third Floor’, when Tom and Danny caught each other’s eye. A slight mix-up over sharing the mic had them ‘corpsing’ during the song, but as true professionals, they quickly gathered themselves and jumped straight back in to finish the song, to huge cheers and applause. It is clear that the band care about each other, and especially their fans, as they engaged with them throughout the set, even jumping off stage to sing with the lucky ones at the very front.

I’ve seen many artists who often concentrate on their new work, but these guys covered every album, with something in there for everyone. I even saw a happy grandma at home, watching on FaceTime and singing along!

The lighting was great and what one would expect at a rock concert, but not overkill — no smoke and mirrors needed here. With their iconic logo in black and white for most of the set, the focus was on the boys and their music. However, during ‘Red’, this was particularly impressive, with full-on red lighting beaming down and the logo changing to match, all fitting perfectly with the hit song.

“Heart-melting”

Tom proudly announced that they had been together as McFly for 21 years, asking who had been before and who was a first-timer. (Although I am a fan of McFly and love their music, I must admit to being in the latter category.) He laughed and thanked everyone for coming, whether it was their umpteenth time or they had just popped their McFly cherry.

A crowd-pleasing encore ended the night with the band’s sing-along hit and debut number one single, ‘Five Colours In Her Hair’, which provided the perfect finale. The boys stayed out on stage long after the lights had gone down. Even as the crowds were leaving, Harry came back out with his son to give a wave, which was a heart-melting moment. This was one of the best bands I have ever seen — and like a good bottle of wine, they just get better and better with age.

images: Cuffe & Taylor / The Piece Hall