We review McFly’s headline set at Dreamland as part of the Margate Summer Series
12:00, 08 July 2023
Myself and my gig partner grew up with posters of McFly on our bedroom wall, so we were both more than ready to relive our youth with the pop rock four-piece at Margate.
When we arrived, the Totally Wired DJ was playing a mix of noughties hits from the likes of Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, Busted and more, and it was clear that we weren’t the only ones getting in the nostalgic mood.
The beautiful weather helped, and the Instagrammable backdrop of Dreamland’s vintage fairground set the tone for good vibes all round.
The support band, New Hope Club, played to a handful of fans and a generally receptive crowd, and managed to win most people over with covers of The Beatles and Miley Cyrus.
Just before 9pm, YMCA suddenly blasted out of the speakers for one last pre-McFly party before the band themselves walked on stage to huge cheers, screams and applause.
The set opened with a couple of newer singles - Where Did All the Guitars Go and Land of the Bees - which, admittedly, I didn’t know and it looked as though most of the people around us were also unfamiliar with.
However, frontmen Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones then launched into the instantly recognisable Star Girl and, from there, the crowd got the throwback fun that we were desperately craving.
From early singles such as Room on the Third Floor and Obviously to sing-along anthems One For the Radio and Transylvania, the whole crowd - whether it was groups of lads that you’d never expect to be boyband fans to families hoisting kids up onto their shoulders - knew every word.
In fact, the only boos we heard were when bassist Dougie Poynter tried to say he felt at home with us because he was from Essex and that was “kind of the same place, right? We’re all near Bluewater, aren’t we?”
It was at that moment that Kent fans affectionately made it clear that they weren’t best pleased about being lumped in with Essex and were surprisingly protective of their hometown shopping centre.
The band finished their main set with the uplifting Shine a Light, before coming back for an encore of All About You and 5 Colours in Her Hair.
It was quite a moment to hear thousands of people singing every note of All About You at the top of their voices in the dreamy seaside setting.
And, truly, there’s no better way to end a night than dancing with your childhood friend like you’re back in your Smash Hits poster-covered bedrooms watching McFly play 5 Colours in Her Hair on Top of the Pops and deciding that you both had a new favourite band.
Just one tip for anyone heading to any of the Margate Summer Series concerts over the next few weeks - between around 7:30pm and the time the headline band came on, queues for the food stalls were very lengthy so I’d advise getting there early and grabbing something to eat before it gets busy.
The queues for the bars were reasonable though, so another option is to eat before you leave the house, avoid the food stands entirely and spend that valuable time grabbing a few pints instead!
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