BUSTED vs McFLY: THE KINGS OF BRITISH POP-PUNK SPLIT THE CROWN IN MANCHESTER

LIVE REVIEW | BUSTED vs McFly | CO-OP LIVE ARENA, MANCHESTER | 5th November 2025 by Lucy Holden

Look, let’s just get the annoying bit out of the way first: the Co-op Live Arena. Seriously, getting there was an actual war. You had the traffic nightmare, then the human traffic nightmare thanks to a Man City Champions League game kicking off just a stone’s throw away. And inside? Wow the heat was insane, and the queues for a drink were longer than the setlist because they had every single shop kiosk closed. Can’t say I’m loving the venue, but honestly, McBusted straight-up made me forget I was sweating waiting for a lukewarm pint.

They had already owned the city with two sold-out nights at the AO Arena less than a month ago, and this whole ‘Busted vs McFly’ Tour has been tearing up the UK since mid-September. The whole vibe is this massive, glorious competition—the ultimate Battle of the Bands, complete with the tagline: “Every Saga has an ending.”

McFly kicked off the night just after 8 PM, barely half an hour after doors opened, with ‘Where Did All The Guitars Go’. And from that very first chord, the entire 23,000 -capacity crowd was on its feet, ready to go nuts.

The opener to this whole shebang immediately proved they have definitely still got it. They demonstrated their impressive guitar chops right away, then ratcheted up the intensity with the stomping ‘Star Girl’—where Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter, and Danny Jones did their signature synchronised kick dance—and then ‘That Girl’ to get everyone bouncing from the word go.

It was during ‘All About You’, their biggest song, that you could really scope out the crowd. We’re talking kids younger than six, right next to adults in their sixties, all singing the last verse back to Danny Jones in this massive, lit-up arena. It’s wild; the fanbase just keeps regenerating, but the band members themselves literally haven’t aged a day and, vocally, they sound better than ever. It’s not my first time seeing them, but every time, I walk away completely wowed by their talent, especially Tom Fletcher during ‘Room on the 3rd Floor’. His voice is just nuts.

After what felt like a slightly random three songs to wrap up their section, ending with ‘The Heart Never Lies’, we had a full 12 songs in an hour from McFly. My brain hadn’t even processed that much pop-punk before Busted was practically ready to crash the party.

Busted launched straight into the early 2000s relic, ‘Crashed The Wedding’. If you’re a proper Busted fan, you’d have clocked it immediately, but after just three songs, Matt Willis addressed the elephant in the room: they were down a member. James Bourne was properly sick, and they were stuck on who could replace him. Willis laughed, quoting James: “Anyone but someone from McFly! Could be Jedward, honestly anyone but them.” All joking, of course!

They settled on James’s little brother, Chris, who actually played the small professor kid from the ‘Year 3000’ video! He totally smashed it, filling in for the next few songs. But just before my personal fave, ‘Sleeping With the Light On’, came this incredibly poignant moment. Willis told the crowd, “I’m gonna not sing the first lines so you can sing it for James.” This made the largest indoor arena in the UK feel like a tiny, intimate space, with everyone holding their phone torches up. Honestly, a proper gorgeous moment.

After Chris bowed out, they finished their set with two perfect songs: ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ and ‘What I Go To School For’.

Then came the fun part: Dougie from McFly and Matt from Busted appeared on opposite sides of the arena, absolutely ripping into each other. Willis fired first, asking Dougie, “Why have you come here dressed as a lesbian going to a pottery class?” Dougie came right back with a joke about Matt’s many rashes—and some other things I definitely can’t repeat! But it ended on a sweet note when Dougie gave his bass guitar to a little girl named Evie, instantly cueing a huge, collaborative “awww” from the crowd.

This was the distraction while they set up the stage for the next pairing: Danny from McFly and Charlie from Busted. And now, this was THE moment. Simple, stunning, and a total pinch-me experience. The gorgeous harmonies of Jones meeting Simpson’s insane , rusty tones on ‘3AM’. I’ve seen clips on social media, but wow, live it was an emotionally crippling moment. Full-on tears.

The whole ‘Every Saga has an ending’ theme is fun and plays out well with the theatrics of the show. It’s even better when you remember the backstory: both bands were formed by the same management, McFly’s Harry Judd was Busted’s drummer in the ‘Crashed The Wedding’ video, and Tom Fletcher was originally supposed to be in Busted. They’re practically family!

They finished the show together, bouncing between Busted and McFly songs before hitting the first actual McBusted track, ‘What Happened To Your Band’. This was the pivotal moment where they truly clicked as one massive, beautiful six-piece unit. 

Gorgeous! Before ending the night with the two most iconic songs you could ask for: ‘Shine a Light’ and, of course, ‘Year 3000’.

So, yeah, the venue was sweaty and the traffic was biblical, but when you get two legendary bands on a stage having that much fun and sounding that phenomenal, none of it matters. This whole McBusted thing is amazing. It’s fun, it’s theatrical, and my god, it’s talented. This is more than just nostalgia; it’s a testament to how good pop-punk can be when it’s done right, with killer songs and genuine chemistry. They are truly the kings of the UK pop-punk scene, and clearly, they’re not giving up the crown anytime soon.