McFly Gets "Lucky" in the USA

There is a young rock/pop band that has stormed to the top of the U.K. charts. McFly, consisting of four hotties.. very young 20-somethings, are thrilling audiences with tight guitar licks and "relationship" songs that cut to the heart of many a teen. Co-lead singers Tom Fletcher (vocals, guitar) and Danny Jones (vocals, guitar) are backed up by Dougie Poynter (bass, vocals) and Harry Judd (drums).

Described as "early Beatles meets Blink-182", these guys are not the usual manufactured band. Tom was working as a production assistant filming new bands across the U.K. when he met Danny. The two singer/songwriters got signed to a contract and took on Dougie and Harry on the recommendation of pals. When the producers of Lindsay Lohan's new film Just My Luck were looking for a U.K. band on the brink of making it in the U.S. to play themselves in the film, McFly fit the bill perfectly.

We got an exclusive interview with the band when we all attended an early screening of the film on the 20th Century Fox lot in L.A. The lads had just flown over from the U.K. the day before and were still a little jet-lagged but sat across the aisle from me and were peppy enough to laugh at themselves when spotting their scenes on screen. These guys have an early Beatles vibe in comedy that reminds us of the wacky film A Hard Day's Night.

After the film, McFly stayed around to greet some of their core fans, an advance team of supporters who are jump-starting their British Invasion of the States. We tore the group away for our exclusive interview and moved to the back of the theater where the guys plopped into seats (Danny lounging across several seats with a "ah...so comfy"). A couple of the guys wore cute caps; all band members were relaxing in t-shirts or shirts and jeans. The band confided that they haven't had a chance to enjoy anything in the Hollywood area except Starbucks and In and Out Burger so far. They are hoping to do some clubbing or theme park visiting in the future.

Here is our laid-back exchange:

TeenHollywood: You guys are not from the same cities in the U.K. How did you meet and get together?

Tom: (indicating Danny) He's from up North near Manchester. He's the outsider. Basically, I was doing jobs for the management when they were auditioning. I handed out leaflets and filmed auditions and they were auditioning for boy bands. While we were in Manchester, they were holding auditions and he turns up for one. I filmed the audition that he came into. We met then. He was kind of wrong for that sort of thing but we hit it off and started writing songs. We spent a year writing together and wrote an album and got a record deal just us two. We met these guys through friends of friends.

At this point, the fans are being escorted out and yell at the guys.. they stop and say "We love you" back.

TeenHollywood: You all write songs. What happens when someone doesn't like someone else's song?

Danny: We just tell them.

Harry: That never happens.

Tom: Well, it's more like constructive criticism.

Danny: We take our turns to write a number one.

Tom: It's quite rare that one of us will write a song on his own. We write together. So when we're writing, that's when we [criticize]. If you really like something, that's when you stand up for it.

TeenHollywood: This is always a fun question. What's the weirdest object you've ever written lyrics on when you can't find paper?

Danny: Really good question.

Tom: I wrote down something on a little square box that used to have a picture of me and Danny inside a crystal [I look confused]. It's like a souvenir crystal of us. Engraved inside the crystal is me and Danny. I wrote on the box.

Harry: I wrote lyrics on my hand

Dougie: My friend wrote lyrics once. He pulled open a drawer and wrote them on the inside of the drawer.

Danny: I've written lyrics on my bedside table before in my old house in Bolton.

TeenHollywood: What did you mum say when she saw that?

Danny: Well, I wrote it on the side hidden by the bed.

TeenHollywood: Any one favorite band for everybody?

Tom: No. We all have different favorites.

Harry: Actually there is one band that we all agree on; The Used. That's not our favorite individually. That's just the one we all like together.

TeenHollywood: Have you gotten to do or see anything since you came to California yesterday?

Danny: In and Out Burger and Starbucks.

Dougie: There's just been no time. We've been going since 8 A.M. We're coming back again in a few weeks.

Harry: We see things go by when we're driving.

Tom: Maybe that will be our reward if we do well out here.

TeenHollywood: Was it fun doing the Just My Luck film with Lindsay Lohan?

Harry: [yawning] Yeah. We went out for supper with her and then went to a club and then a house party. That was the most exciting thing.

Danny: We didn't want to be the ones to go up and talk to her.. She was nice to us and she asked us to dinner.

When I bring it up, the guys say they'd love to write songs for shows like "The O.C." or "One Tree Hill".

Tom: I've written songs for other bands and some for the Thunderbirds soundtrack. There's a film coming out in England called Alien Autopsy and I've written for that.

TeenHollywood: Would you like to star in your own movie?

Harry: Maybe in ten years time when we're more creative. One that we wrote.

Tom: I want to be in an action movie, a sci fi. I'd go into space.

Dougie: It'll be a romantic comedy, sci-fi action drama.

TeenHollywood: Favorite film you've seen recently?

Harry: Latex Housewives, not really.

Tom:The Inside Man.

Dougie: The Cave

Tom: Lately... Just My Luck... gotta say that.

Danny: The Notebook.

I comment that Danny must be romantic.

Tom: Hey! We all like The Notebook.

We agree that Rachel McAdams is really hot. I tell the guys I've interviewed her. They get excited.

TeenHollywood: Did you write any songs specifically for Just My Luck?

Tom: There's a song on our album called "Just My Luck" but we don't sing it in the film.

TeenHollywood: What is the weirdest fan encounter you've had so far?

Danny: It was weird when fans in England found out where we lived and came over. We all lived together for the last three years.

Tom: We all had a house but we moved into a big flat. We just all bought our own places.

Danny: When the chick knocked on the door and said she was a stripper.

Tom: And you nearly let her in. [There is an argument about whether she was let in or not].

Harry: We'd get them with paintball guns if they came to our house but they loved it.

Tom: They used to come up and knock on the door when they found out we lived there so we bought paintball guns and chased them down the drive shooting. They liked it.

Danny: We're really nice guys but one tried to crawl in through our window so we've moved.

TeenHollywood: Where do you take someone on a first date?

Tom: The cinema to see Just My Luck.

Harry: To the top of the Empire State Building which I've hired for the night. Then I'd blindfold her and then I'd run away...no I wouldn't do that.

Tom: I'd take her to space.

Danny: I'd take her to Niagara Falls. We'd spend the day in a canoe.

Tom: The Fourth moon of Endor.

TeenHollywood: Where would you take a girl, Dougie?

Dougie: Uh, you guys keep coming up with bad things and I can't think... okay, I'd take her to Narnia.

TeenHollywood: What message do you have for the potential fans in the U.S.?

Harry: Don't be potential. Make it a reality.

Tom: Check out our music... cuz it's good. We're just four English guys and we hope you like our music.

McFly's American album comes out on May 9th. Just My Luck hits screens on May 12th. Right now you can check out the group's page on My Space and TeenMusic.com's Artist Fan Board

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.