Wonderland // McFly

It's Where We Started

January 9, 2009: radio:ACTIVE Tour; Sheffield United Kingdom

Today was the first day of the radio:ACTIVE tour

The boys usually have themes for their tours. For Wonderland they had a spiral backdrop and tons of weird props to make it look like they were in the rabbit hole from Alice and Wonderland (except for the blow up legs. Those were just for their amusement) and for Motion in the Ocean the whole stage was beach themed with surf boards and a tiki bar.

This tour the theme was a post-apocalyptic world.

Tom and Dougie were the ones who would come up with the theme ideas, and then Tom would make multiple sketches of exactly how they wanted the stage to look in his song book until it was perfect. Then it was up to the poor stage builders to make their visions reality.

For the Lies music video, the boys had shot a whole movie sequence about some post-apocalyptic world where everything ran on water. The boys didn't really get it, since it was Fletch's idea, but they had gone along with it and now it was the theme for the whole album, really.

Tonight they were playing The Sheffield Arena, which was huge. It even made me a little nervous to even think about the boys performing in front of so many people.

Harry and I were standing where the audience would be in just a few hours, looking at the stage in all its glory.

There was a drum platform for Harry (obviously), multiple big fans that stood behind the boys, hanging lights, drapes of fabric and oil jugs that shot real fire during certain parts of the show. Plus, the three microphone stands were wrapped in all kinds of weird barbed wire and had metal poking out of them.

"That's something." I say, looking as the lighting crew project the green lights onto the stage.

"Innit? Looks just like the album." Harry smiles.

"Look out!" I hear Tom's voice yell as him and Dougie rush past on skateboards, and Danny, on a toddler-sized scooter.

This is why I don't like non-seated arena's.

I quickly pull Harry to the side as the three of them whiz past us. Tom abruptly stops, and Dougie and Danny crash into him, making the three of them fall over.

"I love standing arenas." Danny laughs, getting up. I walk over to the three on the floor and help them up.

"Thanks." Tom smiles.

"No problem." I reply. "You probably couldn't see where you were going past that fringe." Remember that haircut I told him to get? He still hadn't gotten it and his hair was starting to resemble Danny's in 2005. Tom laughs and rolls his eyes playfully. "At least you're all here for sound check now."

"We knew we had to take wheels in order to make it on time!" Danny smiles, as all four of the boys make their way onto the stage.

After sound check is always the same. I tape the set-lists to the floor (mostly for Danny's sake) and gather anything the boys will need for the show like water, energy drinks, beers, and their ear-ins while they get ready.

Or, are supposed to be getting ready.

When I walk into the dressing room, How to Save a Life by the Fray is blaring and I see Tom, Danny and Harry perched over a guitar case on wheels. I walk over to the stereo and turn it down a bit, to which the boys all shoot up, and turn around.

"What are you guys doing?" I ask. I can tell by the look on their faces their hiding something.

"Nothing." Danny smiles.

"You've got to get changed, fans are starting to come in- where's Dougie?"

"Guys!" I hear from the guitar case. "Seriously, I've had enough now!" My mouth drops.

"You shoved Dougie in a guitar case?" I yell, rushing past them to the case.

"No!" Harry says defensively. "He offered to get in, we just can't get him out!"

"What do you mean you can't get him out?" I ask.

"The last latch got stuck." Tom says, bending down to try and unlock the case. "We're working on it Dougie! It's a little stuck."

"Stuck?" Dougie calls. "What do you mean stuck?"

"I don't know it's...jammed." Tom says.

"I think I'm losing air!" Dougie calls out.

"You're fine, Dougie. You're just panicking, calm down." I say.

"Lilly's here to watch me die too? Great." He says.

"You're not going to die." Harry says. I look to try and find something to help get Dougie out.

I go straight over to the vanity in the corner that is covered in beers and see a bottle opener.

jackpot.

"Harry!" I call to the McFly member currently trying to bust Dougie out. "Use this." I say, walking over and handing it to him.

"Get me out, Harry!" Dougie calls.

"Dougie, I'm working on it." Harry says back. He shoves the metal end of the bottle opener under the latch and wiggles it, but the latch only moves a tiny bit. "Son of a bitch." He says, moving his finger closer to the latch to give it some leverage.

I'm not exactly sure what happened next, but as soon as he got it open, Dougie must've pressed down the guitar case on Harry's fingers.

Dougie leaps up from the guitar case, breathing heavily, and Harry falls back holding his fingers.

"Are you okay?" I ask Harry quickly.

"Is he okay? I was just trapped in a guitar case for ten minutes!" Dougie exclaims. I was just worried Harry's fingers were broken.

"Bloody hell, Doug. Hulk mode much?" Harry laughs, shaking his fingers and standing up. Thank goodness he's fine.

"Hehe...sorry. Did I mention I don't love small spaces?" Dougie smiles.

"I think we picked up on that." Danny laughs.

"Alright. So you're all fine and you need to get dressed." I say.

"No problem!" Danny says, as the boys disperse around the dressing room to get ready. Danny quickly slips on a blue flannel and buttons it up. He goes to roll up the sleeve and rips the whole thing. All the boys look up at me.

"Please don't tell me that's the only shirt you brought into the venue." I say. Danny smiles and laughs nervously.

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