POP bands tend to come and go quicker than you can say Busted or Hanson, but one group that seems to have found the magic formula for success and sustainability is McFly.

Now fully-grown 20-somethings with facial hair, the boys, I mean lads, continue to make hit records and release massive-selling albums.

Since their formation in 2004, McFly have enjoyed seven number one singles and two number one albums, so what still gives them that drive to succeed?

“We want to do everything all over again basically, but better,” explains Harry. “We want this latest album to be successful as well.

“We just really enjoy making our music and performing for the fans, and, yeah, we do pop music. But if you look at the charts, pretty much everything is pop music. It’s not a bad thing – it’s just popular music.”

It has been nearly a year since McFly last graced Bournemouth with their presence, but this time the lads intend to stay a little longer.

“We’ve been down to Bournemouth before, and played the BIC, which we really enjoyed. We didn’t get much of a chance to look around the place last time because we did back-to-back gigs, but this time we’ll hopefully get a chance to have a look at the town.”

Earlier this year the band got the chance to appear on the F-Word with Gordon Ramsay, and found the pressure of being in the Ramsay kitchen just as tough as performing live on stage.

“The pressure (in the kitchen) was intense and certainly comparable to being out on stage in front on thousands of fans.

“It’s definitely more subtle if you mess up on stage rather than in the kitchen though, because you can cover it up or people don’t notice as easily.

“We had loads of fun on the F-Word and Gordon’s a really nice bloke. He even invited us to one of his new restaurants for a meal, so I think we’ll have to take him up on that.

“It was nice to do something different, outside of music.”

They survived the heat of the F-Word kitchen, but Harry remembers a time when it hasn’t always gone that smoothly on stage.

“There was one major mess-up on stage, when the whole PA system went down at a gig, which obviously wasn’t our fault.

“I can’t really remember how we dealt with it. I think Danny probably just got naked and ran around the stage to keep everyone entertained.”

McFly followed in the footsteps of Radiohead and Prince by giving away their new album, Radio:ACTIVE, for free.

“Yeah, we decided to give our album away free with a newspaper.

“We made the album in Australia, on our own label with our own money, and we think it’s the best music we’ve ever made, so we wanted to make sure as many people heard it as possible, and within a day it could be in millions of people’s homes.”

It has been rumoured the lads are looking to add bands to their record label in the future, but for the moment Harry says they’re just concentrating on themselves.

Despite unprecedented success over the past few years, the band still find themselves criticised for their “pop” sound and image.

“The critics don’t really bother us, and, to be fair, we get mostly positive reviews anyway. It only really annoys us when we get reviews with personal attacks, when the person writing it has never even met us.

“Everyone gets criticised though, so it’s not something that gets us down, as we’re pretty secure in what we’re doing and happy doing it. If you don’t like us then we don’t mind.”

Having spent months recording the new album, the band are now out on the road promoting and playing new songs, before embarking on the Radio:ACTIVE tour.

But do they prefer recording or touring? “I suppose it’s a case of the grass always being greener.

“When we’re in the studio I just can’t wait to get out on the road and then vice versa. I enjoy them both though and we’re really looking forward to the tour.”

With the new album to promote and new tour to embark on, it’s a busy time for McFly, but how long can the band keep up their phenomenal success?

“We’ve never thought about stopping as a band, as we’re all pretty ambitious people and have loads more to achieve, so we just want to keep going really.

“In 10 years’ time I still see McFly being together, on our 14th or 15th album probably, and still going strong, making great records.”

  • McFly play the BIC next Saturday, November 15. Are you going? Will you be queuing early to get a glimpse of the boys? Let us know below...