Interview Busted and McFly: “There’s been a healthy rivalry between the bands since we first started out”

So, can you tell us a bit more about how the tour came about? Obviously you announced it at Mcfly’s birthday show, but what was the motivation behind the idea in the first place?
Matt: We’ve been talking about it - or have sort of had it in our minds to do a ‘vs’ tour - for years. There’s been a healthy rivalry between the bands ever since we all first started out.
Dougie: Ever since we won Record Of The Year…

Is that rivalry something that’s fan-driven?
Matt: It was media-driven, at the beginning.
Danny: I was sick of getting in a taxi and the driver would ask ‘alright mate, are you James from Busted?’
Matt: Well I was sick of drunk guys coming up to me and singing ‘Obviouslyyy, you’re out of my league!’, and I’d be like ‘not my band, mate’.
Danny: And then obviously we confused matters even more with McBusted, so this is like the clean up operation.
Dougie: I’ve never had that…

You’ve never been mistaken for a Busted member?
Dougie: I never get recognised at all, so it’s hard…
Matt: Aren’t you that girl from Girls Aloud? 
Danny: This ‘vs’ thing is like the morning after on the bar strip in Ibiza, when all the trucks go in to hoover up the mess, and everything’s fine until the next night.
Dougie: And these guys have been slagging us off ALL summer. They started it.

So how’s the tour going to work - will it be a co-headline situation, where you swap which order the bands play in? Or will you all be onstage at once, alternating the setlist between Mcfly and Busted songs?
Danny: Who said we’re going to play music?
Dougie: Nobody said anything about music.
Matt: This is a massive mud wrestle to the death.
Danny: We’re not gonna give that away, that’s what it is. But the staging is insane. We’re trying to create something that’s never been done before, so it’s a brand new space.
Dougie: Mate, you’re sounding a bit like Trump.
Danny: Well, what I was trying to say before I was rudely interrupted by my own bandmate, was that I’ve never seen it been done, so it’s quite exciting for us all to get our heads together and come up with sick ideas for how we’re gonna make it work. And with 20 plus years experience in keeping the energy up, keeping the audience involved, using all our tricks to make it the ultimate show, PLUS the ‘vs’ element… it’s gonna be great.

Over those two decades of playing live, has your audience demographic changed?
Danny: [Our original fans] have grown up with us, and then they’ve had more!
Dougie: They’ve Russian doll-ed it.
Danny: I spoke to someone the other day - they’d brought their mum along who was 50+, and she’s a fan, so it’s a family ticket really. It’s a ticket for everyone!

We see what you did there.
Dougie: He’s such a good salesman, isn’t he?
Matt: There are some people who are definitely McFly fans, and some who are definitely Busted fans, but there’s obviously a massive crossover fanbase as well. So it was just a question of asking: how do we put on the best show for everyone? Because that’s what we want to do - we want to put on the most epic show anyone’s ever seen. We wanna have fun, and to have a bit of fucking back and forth, and to make it as fun and as entertaining as possible.
Danny: We want the fans to talk about it - we want there to be discussions like ‘who’s the best?’, ‘who do you prefer?’

Are you able to give us any hints about what you’ve got planned for the shows? Any special guests, perhaps?
Danny: We don’t need guests.
Dougie: I wanna do a stunt. I’ve been watching lots of WWE for inspiration for the show, and all I can conclude from that is that I need to do some sort of high-flying stunt, like the biggest jump from the top of the rafters…
Matt: …on to Charlie. 
James: I’d like a section of the show where I cover songs on the steel drums. I’m imagining a little area with palm trees and Caribbean vibes and steel drums, where I’ll play a little medley of McFly and Busted songs that we don’t have time for, because there’s so many hits between the bands.

Are you going to put on a Hawaiian shirt for the occasion, maybe a little grass skirt?
James: Most likely, yes.
Danny: Maybe that could be in the bar afterwards…
James: If I showed you in rehearsals what I’m thinking of, maybe you’d like it. People would definitely be rushing to come to the shows.

So, the tour poster features the strapline ‘Every saga has an ending’. Can you enlighten us as to what this means? It obviously hints at some sense of conclusion or finality…
Danny: Yep, for the loser.

How are you planning to decide the winner? Will there be some sort of huge clap-o-meter?
Dougie: We’ll poll the audience as they leave.

And finally, what’s the prize? 
Dougie: You get to stay a band.
James: I like the idea that the loser has to cover and release one of the other band’s songs, that’s quite funny. 

Tickets for the Busted Vs McFly 2025 UK and Ireland tour are on general sale now. Check out where they’ll be performing below.

SEPTEMBER 2025
16 Birmingham, bp pulse Live
17 Birmingham, bp pulse Live (added date)
19 London, OVO Arena Wembley
20 London, The O2
21 London, The O2 (added date)
23 Cardiff, Utilita Arena
24 Cardiff, Utilita Arena (added date)
26 Sheffield, Utilita Arena
27 Leeds, First Direct Arena
28 Leeds, First Direct Arena (added date)
30 Aberdeen, P&J Live

OCTOBER 2025
02 Glasgow, OVO Hydro
03 Glasgow, OVO Hydro (added date)
06 Cardiff, Utilita Arena (added date)
07 Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
08 Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena (added date)
10 Newcastle, Utilita Arena
11 Newcastle, Utilita Arena (added date)
12 Newcastle, Utilita Arena (The Final Battle)
14 Nottingham,  Motorpoint Arena
15 Nottingham,  Motorpoint Arena (added date)
17 Manchester, AO Arena
18 Manchester, AO Arena (added date)
20 Dublin, 3Arena
21 Belfast, SSE Arena
22 Belfast, SSE Arena (added date)
26 Dublin, 3Arena (added date)
28 Birmingham, Utilita Arena (The Final Battle)
30 London, The O2 (The Final Battle)
31 London, The O2 (added date)

NOVEMBER 2025
01 London, The O2 (added date)
03 Glasgow, OVO Hydro (added date)
05 Manchester, Co-op Live (added date)
06 Sheffield, Utilita Arena (added date)
08 Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena (added date)

Tags: Features, Interviews, Busted, McFly