Summer is slowly coming to a close but there’s still time for one last hurrah for open air events as Barton Aerodrome hosted British pop rock act: McFly. The show was rained upon during The Hosiers set but after a brief wet spell, the show stayed dry set as the sun went down on McFly.

With helicopters circling the event and YMCA blasting through the speakers, McFly’s appearance was imminent as they burst on the scene with the AC/DC style riffing of Where Did All the Guitars Go? A question that has been omnipresent in pop music for quite some time but luckily the return of acts like McFly helped to ease the loss of guitar driven pop music. Brandishing flashy guitar solos; the band, as well as thousands of people in the crowd, scream in unison “rock and roll is good for the soul”.

The set was full of tracks that never went mainstream but seem to be beloved by McFly fans across the world. The band have always maintained a loyal fanbase that spans across generations now with people who vividly remember Obviously coming out and going on to discover hidden gems like Land of the Bees, Lies and Corrupted. There’s a great deal of killer pop rock littered throughout the back catalogue just waiting to be discovered.

Many people around in the early 2000s may recall the backlash against McFly and their unfair branding as “just a boyband” and they even took shots at that accusation with their track One for the Radio which displays their desire to make music that’s more than just radio fodder. Nowadays they’ve had something of a redemption arc in the same vein as Hanson, both of which spent many years honing their crafts as songwriters and musicians while still retaining that young demographic and creating more mature music with tracks like the soft ballad of Room on the 3rd Floor.

McFly’s onstage chemistry between songs is a particular highlight, the gang are a funny and charismatic group of people with vocalist Danny Jones giving a bit of Manc charm and proudly declaring “I’m with my people” as he confuses everyone not from the North West by asking “is it cowd?”. Barton Aerodrome was kept warm by pop rock bangers like That Girl which was a high energy rager that maintains the energy of their classic school disco bangers but adds little flourishes of fancy guitar work and even a bass solo.

A highlight of the show was the playful shade thrown at Busted, it seems like it was all in good fun but there’s really no way to tell so it’s best to assume they’re all still good friends back from the McBusted tour. “They got to number one after booing us and after we featured on that album. ” But luckily they followed that up with “I forgive Charlie and the other two”. Regardless of whether or not there’s any ill will between the two titans of British pop rock, it’s a very funny and charming exchange that does a lot to make them seem human.

Sprinkled throughout the set were songs that are permanently linked to the childhoods of practically everyone in the crowd and it’s a glorious moment of catharsis for all knowing all these tracks hold up. Obviously, All About You, Shine a Light; all incredible songs that have made it to the glorious pantheon of British pop music just waiting to be discovered by a new generation, eagerly searching for the music we loved before they even existed.

The show ended with Five Colours in Her Hair, the classic iconic track that introduced the world to McFly and made them overnight superstars in the UK. It’s still a classic and always will be as it makes school disco playlists and continues to start drunken pub arguments about whether or not it was on the Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging soundtrack (it’s not, I checked).

Seeing as they’re no longer boys, it’s factually inaccurate to call McFly a boy band; they’re a band that deserve more respect than they got back in the 2000s. They’ve grown into a band worthy of your time and effort, they’re a band that can match the energy they present on the album in a live setting. Catch McFly live whenever you can, there’s no telling when they’ll go back on hiatus so it’s important to experience them while you can.

There were so many opportunities to make a Back to the Future reference in this article but I haven’t seen it, so I can’t. Yell at me in the comments.