Choctober (please help!)

Okay, everyone, brace yourselves.  For the month of October, I might be:

• Stressed
• Hormonal
• Hungry

Why?  Because, along with a group of other McBusted fans, I've decided to take part in "Choctober."  Yes, despite my utter devotion to all things chocolate-y, in October, not a single mouthful will pass my lips.  No chocolate bars.  No hot chocolate.  No brownies, choccie biscuits or chocolate ice cream.  Nothing.

The reason behind this frankly mad decision is simple: we want to try to raise as much money as possible for a wonderful appeal called Eyes Alight.

Eyes Alight was set up by Izzy Judd (wife of McBusted/McFly drummer Harry) and her family, after her brother Rupert suffered a brain injury that changed his life, back in 1997.  Rupert was involved in a serious car accident and needed long-term brain injury rehabilitation.  Watching her brother go through this rehabilitation, Izzy soon realised that certain things could make the process much easier and she set up the Eyes Alight appeal (a reference to the way patients' eyes often light up at the mention of doing something they had enjoyed prior to their injuries) to raise money for men and women who use the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust's services and community housing (as Izzy's brother Rupert does).  The money raised by the appeal goes towards making life that bit more enjoyable for those undergoing rehabilitation.  It can pay for special day-trips, fund items to help people pursue the interests they had prior to their injuries (by purchasing musical instruments or sports equipment etc) and by providing laptops etc to make communication easier.  The appeal hopes to continue providing group musical therapy, improved communication and special days out, and even to open up green gyms that men and women undergoing rehabilitation can use.  I'm sure you'll agree, it's a pretty brilliant appeal to be supporting and well worth giving up my beloved choccie for.

Not that it's going to be easy!  I'm a self-confessed chocoholic and I can't imagine how I'll manage a whole month without cracking.  But it's got to be worth a try for such an important cause.  And it's just going to mean that on November 1st, I'm liable to eat an entire chocolate cake to myself...

So, here comes the begging bit (come on, everyone, you knew it was coming, right?!).  We've set ourselves the pretty ambitious task of raising £1000 for Eyes Alight.  I know, it's a lot, but we're not messing around - if you're going to go for it, you may as well really go for it.  We've set up a Just Giving page, which makes it super easy for people to donate, should they want to.  And you know, we really hope people do!  Obviously, we know money's tight for most of us with Christmas around the corner, so we really do appreciate any donation, however small you might think it is.  The link to the donation page is here.

To keep everyone informed with our progress, we've also set up a Twitter account for our Choctober mission.  We'll be posting regular updates as to how much we've raised, as well as fascinating chocolate facts, recipe ideas and general chit-chat from the girls taking part in the challenge.  Even if you can't donate personally, it would mean a great deal if you could give the account a follow and RT the odd tweet, just to spread the word of what we're up to.

Well, I guess all that remains is to say thank you to everyone who has offered donations or support so far!  I'm going to need that support in bucket loads, I swear!  In the meantime, there's a Black Forest Gateau in the fridge with my name on it...  May as well eat this stuff whilst I can!

McBusted Tour 2015 - a Most Excellent Adventure!

Standard gig outfit...

I may be a grown woman of 32, but there are some things in life that give me so much joy, I go right back to feeling like a kid again.  Music is one of those things.  For me, a song can change your mood, evoke memories, or simply make you want to get up and dance and that's a powerful thing.  And live music - actually getting to see the band you love playing the songs you love, right there in front of you - is even better.

Most people who know me are aware that my musical tastes can be pretty diverse.  I can go from listening to the Manic Street Preachers to the Spice Girls in the blink of an eye.  I can be humming along to a Carpenters song one minute, then playing a musical theatre show soundtrack the next.  I don't really engage in musical snobbery if I can help it - if I like something, then I like it.

Last year, my best friend Lydia and I went to Western-Super-Mare, to see a show headlined by McBusted - the supergroup formed when McFly teamed up with two out of three members of Busted.

It was on a beach and we got sunburnt, but it was EPIC.

To say that we were blown away would be an understatement.  We went there principally to watch 5ive and The Backstreet Boys.  We left with a full-blown, incurable McBusted obsession.  We nervously awaited news as to whether the band would stay together and record an album once their sell-out tour and Summer appearances were over.  Thankfully, we weren't disappointed; their self-titled debut was released in December last year and it was a magnificent pop-rock beast of an album.  Lydia and I were excited by the idea of an album, not only because it meant new McBusted music to listen to, but because we fervently hoped that an album would mean another tour.  

But how, we wondered, could they possibly top the 2014 shows?  Their first tour featured fireworks, a flying DeLorean, three huge, inflatable boobs and a crazy amount of fun.  It couldn't be bettered, surely?!

Well, this is McBusted.  And if there's one thing we've come to learn about the band we love so much, it's that they don't do things by halves.  Their brand new 2015 Most Excellent Adventure Tour (MEAT for short) won't disappoint any of their fans.  It certainly didn't disappoint us!  

What's fantastic about McBusted is the sheer level of thought that goes into everything they do.  Their live shows are no exception.  Their set for the MEAT tour was an enormous, old-school video arcade game.  Huge buttons and joysticks adorned the stage, in front of a massive screen, showing computer graphics.  And the best bit?  It wasn't just for show - the whole set was actually a playable arcade game, for which the band had to jump onto the buttons and push the enormous joysticks in order to compete against each other.  It was really impressive and added just another dimension of fun to the proceedings.

Of course, it's no good having all the fancy set and nothing to back it up with.  Music is obviously an incredibly subjective thing, but for my money, McBusted are responsible for some of the best pop-rock songs in recent years.  On the MEAT tour, classic McFly and Busted songs, such as Year 3000, Obviously, Air Hostess and Shine A Light were mixed in with the brand new, original McBusted songs from their debut album.  Tracks like Air Guitar and Get Over It already sound massive on record, but they were bloody enormous when played live!  The crowd joined in, shouting the lyrics back at the band and leaping around with delighted enthusiasm.  The band are a tight unit when playing live and their energy and showmanship ensured that everyone was kept entertained.  And if anyone doubted the musical ability of the band members themselves, they need only have heard James Bourne's gorgeous vocals on Beautiful Girls Are The Loneliest, to have been reassured that this is a band with real talent.  When James' voice blended with that of McFly frontman, Danny Jones, the result was truly stunning.

McBusted are a band that know their fans and are more than happy to come up with ideas that will satisfy them on every level.  And so it was that prior to performing Busted's Crashed The Wedding, the band held their own wedding of sorts, with Harry playing a priest (albeit a topless one) to the "bride" (Dougie) and "groom" (Matt), whilst Danny, Tom and James donned bridesmaids' dresses.  Suffice to say, the scene was greeted with sheer joy from the fans.  It's silly little moments like this that set McBusted apart - they don't take themselves too seriously.  They just want to make their live shows as much fun as possible, for themselves as well as the paying audience.  And it works, because when you can tell that a band are having the time of their lives on stage, you can't help but feel that sense of fun and enjoyment seeping into the crowd, too.  The band are open enough with their fans that it doesn't feel as though they're having a great time without the audience being involved; in fact, the crowd are an integral part of a McBusted show and the gigs are all the more enjoyable as a result.

I always want to lose myself in a live show, fully embracing the experience as much as possible, but I couldn't resist taking a few photos.  I'll post a few here, before telling you about the exciting thing that happened before the gig (yes, I'm telling events in reverse order, but there's a reason - I'm saving the best for last!)...

I'm pretty thrilled with some of the pictures I took!

And speaking of photographs...

Before the gig itself, Lydia and I were lucky enough to attend a meet & greet with the band themselves.  It was one of those moments where you almost have an out-of-body experience; afterwards, it felt like I'd watched it happen, rather than actually lived it, but lived it I did!

We were all led upstairs to a conference room, dotted with circular tables and sofas, on which sat groups of very nervous and excited fans.  Lydia and I were two of the last people to be taken into the room, so we stood, rather than sat.  After ten minutes or so, a member of staff came into the room and ushered a group of 17 people into the corridor to form a line.  Lydia and I were near the front of the line and that was when the nerves really kicked in.  Suddenly, I was minutes away from meeting one of my absolute favourite bands (not to mention my number one celebrity crush, the lovely James Bourne!).  

Our line was eventually taken into yet another conference room, but this one had a large screened area set up, which we all knew was where the band would be standing to meet fans and have photos taken.  Because we were the first group to go in, the band hadn't actually arrived yet, so every time the double doors at the end of the room opened, everyone appeared to suffer a collective heart attack as we all turned in unison to see if it was McBusted.  Finally, after what felt like dozens of false starts, the doors opened and in came Tom, Harry, Dougie, James and Matt.  A huge cheer erupted from the waiting fans, followed swiftly by cries of "where's Danny?!"  as we realised there was a band member missing.  A minute or two later, the door opened again and Danny sauntered in, with a cheeky wave to the crowd.

Lydia and I were the third or fourth pair of fans to be taken to meet the band and I almost briefly forgot how to walk as I made my way over to talk to Harry and Matt, first.  Everyone was lovely - our cheerleader outfits got a lot of attention (all of it positive!) and we had hugs from each band member, which was really nice.  Considering that the band have been doing these meet & greets every night, meeting hundreds of fans over the course of this tour, they didn't seem fed up or jaded; we were greeted with smiles and warmth and it really made the whole experience incredibly special.  It's not every day you can say you've met and had a cheeky cuddle with not one, but two people from your top ten celebrity crush list (don't judge me for actually listing them...).  

All in all, it was an incredible evening and one I doubt I'll ever forget.  The band, the music, the show... I don't think anything could have been done better.  But I'm sure if there's another album and another tour, they'll find a way to prove me wrong!  

From one very happy fan: thanks boys. 

If anyone has a spare half an hour, in which to watch two girls whooping a lot, here's the vlog that Lydia and I made.  Go on, check it out... ;-)

Air Guitar

Seemed appropriate...

There are very few bands I love enough to stay up until midnight to pre-order their new single, despite having to get up at stupid o'clock in the morning for work the next day, but I discovered recently that McBusted are one of them.

Ever since Lydia and I went to see them in Weston-Super-Mare, we've been desperately hoping that they'd release a single - and better still, an album - together.  A couple of nights ago, we got our wish when the first ever McBusted single - Air Guitar - was premiered via a lyric video on YouTube.  

You know that feeling you get when a band you absolutely adore release something new?  That bizarre combination of nerves and excitement ("Please be good, please be good, please be good...")?  Well, I had that in spades, although the "nervous" bit was never all that strong - this is a band made up of bloody brilliant songwriters after all.  It was bound to be great, wasn't it?

Well, of course it was.  And is.

The first few seconds remind me of playing classic arcade computer games (which made the Guitar Hero-esque lyric video all the more impressive) and the first lines "I never was a cool kid and no one ever gave a damn about what I did, I liked to party but I never got invited..." were like a siren call to my nerdy little soul.  I was that kid, in my early teens, singing in my room, writing bad poetry and playing air guitar to songs on the radio.  So immediately, this song felt like my anthem.

It builds and builds until the massive chorus comes as an explosion of guitars and voices that just makes you want to punch the air and jump up and down.  Add a twiddly bit of guitar that's made for playing air guitar to and you've got a smash.

The best bit is that this sounds like a fully-fledged band.  Not McFly with two guys added on.  Not Busted with McFly joining in.  It's a combination of what made both of those bands great and put together, it's ridiculously good.  The way the vocals switch from Matt, to Tom, to James, to Danny just works.  It doesn't feel in the slightest bit forced.  It's as though the most natural and obvious thing in the world is for these six people to be in a band, making music together.  Because when they do, the results are fantastic.

If I had to sum up the song in one word, I'd use "jubilant."  Because that's what it feels, to me.  Utterly joyous - the sound of six mates going: "can you believe we do this for a living?!"  The essence of fun and excitement that made their tour such an incredible success is somehow woven musically into every second of Air Guitar, making it a song that simply couldn't have been written by anyone else.  And it's joyous not only because it's the sound of a band genuinely loving what they're doing, but because the subtext of the song screams "SOD what anyone else thinks."  So you're maybe a bit of a geeky kid, not part of the cool elite at school?  Who cares - just keep doing your thing.  

And as long as these six guys keep doing their thing, they're making this nerdy girl very happy indeed.

If I Only Had A TARDIS...

Long time no blog!  I know, I have been bad at keeping this up to date, recently.  There shouldn't be 3 weeks between blog entries and I don't even have an excuse.  Well, I do, but nobody's going to accept "but I was busy watching McBusted videos" as an excuse.  But I digress...

Sooo, there are only six days left until I attend my first ever Comic Con (London Film & Comic Con, to be precise) and I am stupidly excited about it.  Yes, I will be blogging about it and there may even be a video as well, but in the meantime, I thought of a perfect pre-Con question to pose myself: If I had a real-life TARDIS and could go anywhere in time and space, what would I use it for?!  The possibilities are quite literally endless, so I've decided to limit myself to a top ten.  Here goes... Geronimo!

1. I'd spend more time with these guys.  

One day, the bizarrely short jumper, baggy t-shirt, cycle shorts combo is coming back into fashion, I swear.

Admit it, your life is better for knowing there was a drink called "Flirt."

I lost my grandparents young.  By that, I mean they were pretty young (especially by today's standards) and I was fairly young, too.  By the time I was 14, they were all gone and that hit me pretty hard.  Now, I know in Doctor Who, there are probably  rules about going back and chatting to relatives who are no longer alive in the present day, but I'm also fairly certain that most of us have family we'd give an arm to have one last conversation with.  Plus, if it was my TARDIS, then I make the rules, so...  Okay, maybe there'd be some massive problems with this, but I'd do it anyway.  This is number one on my list, because without our grandparents, we wouldn't have our parents and therefore we wouldn't be here.  And I just wish I'd had time to get to know all four of mine better.  To chat to them as an adult.  To have my Paps teach me Greek!  And, of course, to say I've drunk a refreshing can of Flirt.

2. Have a word with yourself, will you?!

Dougie The Dog was my GCSE mascot.  He was incredibly cool.  As am I, obviously.

I thought about saying I'd go back to the night I met my abusive ex and stop the two of us from ever getting together.  I'd save a lot of pain for myself, after all.  But then I realised that if that relationship had never happened, I wouldn't have learnt some of the lessons I did.  I possibly wouldn't have such an incredible bond with my best friend, who stood by me and literally picked me up off the ground when it all got too much.  And I wouldn't be spending some of my time co-running a campaign that tries to raise awareness of what abuse is and why romanticising it in fiction is so dangerous.  So, after a lot of thinking, I decided that I wouldn't change that abusive relationship from happening, but I would go to see myself and tell me to end it a lot sooner.  I'd support me and encourage me to get help sooner, too.  

I'd also go back to visit 12 year old me.  The girl I was just a few years before the photo above was taken.  Because by then, she already thought she was disgustingly ugly and unlovable because of school bullies (hence Dougie the Dog being in front of my face in that photo).  I would tell her - over and over if I had to - not to believe their words.  To remember that she's a good person and that it will get better for her.  I'd sit beside her every day on the school bus if that's what it took.  That girl needed to be told how special she was, because back then, she didn't believe it in the slightest.  And as a result, I'm still not sure I fully believe it now, either.  But I'd bloody fake it so 12 year old me took it to heart.  She didn't believe her parents or her friends, but damn it, she'd listen to me.  I know all of her secrets after all!  Most of all, I'd tell her that if she doesn't find a little confidence from somewhere, she'll end up wishing she had.  God knows what she might have become if she'd had that little injection of self-belief.

3. The concerts.  OH, THE CONCERTS!

It's hard to know where to begin on this one, but essentially, my TARDIS would spend at least a month, travelling backwards in time to see all the bands and artists I wish I had had a chance to see.  The Beatles, Elvis, Buddy Holly, ABBA, Michael Jackson, the Manics with Richey, Blur in the 90's, David Bowie during the Ziggy Stardust era (and the Ashes To Ashes era), Take That at the height of their 90's fame, The Clash, Green Day at Milton Keynes Bowl, Guns'n'Roses, The Monkees, McFly's 10 year anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall, The Spice Girls...  I just realised I'm quite eclectic.  But anyway, yes.  My TARDIS would be a live music jukebox and I'd probably be forever coming up with gigs I wanted to go to; some from before I was born, some I just missed out on tickets for and some I was actually at, but enjoyed so much I just want to go again.  And again.

4.  Space.  The final frontier.

Captain's log:  I think I've become confused as to which TV show I'm referring to.

You might be wondering why I've left actually exploring space until almost halfway through this list.  The truth is, I know numbers 1 and 2 on this list would be more important to me and number 3 would definitely distract me from anything else for quite some time after the first two items had been checked off.  But of course I would want to go out into space.  Just to see the Earth from up there must be totally mind-blowing, never mind actually visiting other planets and seeking out other forms of life.  I mean, yeah, if I met an angry alien intent on introducing me to my own violent death, I'd be utterly useless.  My sonic screwdriver runs on batteries and it's primary function is to act as a funky looking torch.  Still, it'd be fun right up until the moment of my inevitable demise...

5. Epic past events.

Because before I die, I would like to see England actually win the bloody World Cup.

There are some things we read about in books, or see on TV years later that just inevitably make us think "I wish I'd been there."  England's '66 World Cup win would be right up there, along with VE Day and the subsequent street parties and the fall of the Berlin Wall (which I remember seeing on TV).  Not everything on my list of "epic events" would be a good thing.  Some things would be there purely because I don't think you can know what something was really like unless you've experienced it.  I'd bring history back to life for a few brief moments at a time.  The Titanic, the Blitz...  Things I learnt about at school, but never expected I could revisit.  Which brings me neatly on to...

6. Meddling.

Oh come on.  You know you'd do it.  "Hey, Mr Andrews?  I think we should insist on putting enough lifeboats on the Titanic to cover all the people on board.  'Unsinkable' is a big claim, after all..."

And they lived happily ever after.  You're welcome.

And of course I wouldn't stop there.  This is the biggest reason that I should never, ever get my grubby little mitts on an actual TARDIS, should one exist, because I would be utterly unable to stop myself from changing the course of history.  Sometimes major history, sometimes simply musical history...

"Richey...  Take six months off or something.  The boys won't mind.  Just don't go wandering off..."

"Uh, guys?  Cancel the plane.  I'll take you to your next gig."

Yes, if I had access to a TARDIS, I just know I'd be a pesky little meddler.  Which brings me to the most shallow item on this list...

7. FLIRTING WITH *ALL* THE CELEBRITIES!

Again... Come on.  You have a TARDIS.  You have celebrity crushes.  You do the maths!  It's inevitable that eventually, even the most sensible person in the world (which I am not) would think: "Hmm, I could go back in time to when this person was single," or, if they're already single: "Hmm, I could travel to a place I know they'll be and just give it my best shot and see what happens..."  

I know, right?  All of time and space and I'm thinking about bagging myself a celebrity crush as a companion.  With that in mind, these guys need to watch out if I ever get a TARDIS of my own...

Oh James.  Be mine...

8. "Regrets, I've had a few..."

We've all said or done things we wish we could take back.  To be fair, I'm sort of regretting being honest enough to admit that I'd use a TARDIS to be an inter-stellar celebrity stalker.  But there are other regrets too and I often find that the biggest ones I have are over the silliest little things.  Why didn't I just tell my mum not to go on a waltzer with me, knowing she hated them?  I'd have saved her from throwing her guts up and not being able to enjoy the rest of that particular day of our holiday.  Why did I allow my emotions to get the better of me that time and snap at my family and piss literally everyone off, rather than going to my room to take some time out?!  They're little moments that are either forgotten or no longer particularly important in the grand scheme of things.  But it's those little things that you often wish you could change.  I guess what I'm saying is... I'd use my TARDIS to make myself less of an idiot.

And on the flip-side...

9.  Voluntary Groundhog Days.

Have you ever had a day that was just so awesome, you lie in bed hoping that tomorrow is exactly the same?  Ever been to a gig that blew your mind so much, you'd give anything to go back and hear that obscure album track that you just know the band will never wheel out live again just one more time?!  I think stuff like that a lot.  In the words of the Manics, I'd use my TARDIS to "rewind the film again."

10. Hyde Park.  McBusted.  RIGHT NOW.

Oh look; there he is again!  Number 7 in my list of things to do if I had a TARDIS...

Last weekend, my best friend and I went to see McBusted.  Or, to be more accurate, we went to see 5ive and the Backstreet Boys with the added bonus of McBusted.  Well, the Backstreet Boys cancelled due to illness and I thought to myself: "I hope this gig turns itself around, because I'm a bit stressy now."  In spite of liking a lot of McFly songs (and, as it turned out, a lot more Busted songs than I remembered) and in spite of having "thing" for Danny Jones (which has been running on and off for more years than I care to mention, but which has since been eclipsed by a much, much bigger "thing" for James Bourne), I was a bit concerned that actually, I'd end up going home feeling a bit let down.  I've been a fan of the Backstreet Boys since I was 13 years old and last weekend was meant to be the first time I had ever seen them live.  And then McBusted came on.  And OMFG.

I don't know whether it was the ridiculously catchy songs, the sense of fun the band portrayed the whole time they were on stage, or the fact that by the time they came on I was sun burnt and high on ice cream, but it was quite honestly one of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever been to in my whole bloody life.  And I've been to a few. 

I jumped up and down, I sang, I made up dance routines...  It.  Was.  Epic.  

Right now, they're playing on stage at Hyde Park in front of 45,000 fans.  And I'm sitting here in front of my laptop, checking the live feed for photos and video footage.  Sigh.

So... Has anyone got a TARDIS?

It's All About You point blank refused to load.  Boo to you, Blogger.  Booooo.