2004 McFly: 5 Colours In Her Hair

Another boyband in the power punk mould, though McFly don't simply follow the template set out by Busted; there's a degree of cross pollination between both bands too in that '5 Colours In Her Hair' was co-written with Busted's James Bourne and both collaborate on a cover of 'Lola' on the B side. Being a tribute to the multi-coloured dreadlocks of an actress I've never heard of (Emily Corrie) and her character in a television show I've never seen ('Sooz' in 'As If'), '5 Colours' immediately puts up a cultural/generational wall between me and it from the off that I struggle to clear. That needn't pose too much of a problem by itself - after all, I've never rocked around the clock either but that doesn't stop me enjoying Bill Haley's single. What does pose a problem though is McFly's stodgy fourth form verse ("She's got a lip ring and 5 colours in her hair. Not into fashion but I love the clothes she wears. Her tattoo's always hidden by her underwear") that paints a pancake flat homage of literalness that offers no scope for personal interpretation or embellishment - basically, if you're not familiar with Corrie or Sooz then you're stuffed. A fist pumping chorus could have overcome and given it wings, but in a shotgun blast to the other knee, '5 Colours In Her Hair' comes welded to a chunka chunka guitar riff and hobnailed melody that's pure Sham 69 to Busted's Sex Pistols; that is, a cruder also ran with more spirit than talent or ideas which struggles to find expression beyond a scratchy, vanilla trawl that never rises above surface level. And with the only splashes of colour (the opening and closing "Do do do do"s) being a direct lift from The Lemonhead's arrangement of 'Mrs Robinson', '5 Colours In Her Hair' is just plain dull. Sorry guys.