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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

Radio:Active

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  • Artist: McFly
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: September 22, 2008
  • Total Time: 47:49
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Fed up with the restraints of their major-label contract, McFly broke free of Island Records and founded a label of their own, Super Records, in 2008. Their fourth album and first independently released effort, Radio:Active, finds them growing more musically ambitious than in years past, trying out several different styles of youth-oriented guitar pop/rock. It also finds them taking themselves more seriously as an album-oriented power pop band, rather than a singles-driven boy band. Their change in attitude is most clearly evident on the lead single, "One for the Radio" (as in, "Here's another song for the radio"), with its "We don't care!" singalong chant. By and large, however, McFly play it straight on Radio:Active. There are a few songs like "Falling in Love," one of the album's best, that are surprisingly earnest and impassioned for this former boy band. The symphonic nu-metal rocker "POV" is another example. Other songs are simply a lot of fun. "Everybody Knows" boasts a big guitar riff à la Pat Benatar's "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," and "Do Ya" brings to mind Cheap Trick with its "Do ya, do ya, do ya, do ya love me?" singalong chant. In the end, there are enough fun songs to balance out the ambitious ones. The fun songs tend to be the best on Radio:Active, even if the ambitious ones are perhaps most interesting. The wide range of material here makes it one of McFly's more well-rounded full-length efforts. The singles are here, for sure, but so are quite a few interesting album tracks on which the band tries something new. Much was made of McFly's decision to include ten-track promotional copies of Radio:Active in the English weekly newspaper The Main on Sunday on July 20, 2008. The retail version of the CD was released two months later and included four extra songs, most notably the new single "Lies," plus a bonus DVD and a 32-page booklet. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi

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Radio:Active

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Radio:ACTIVE
Studio album by McFly
Released 20 July 2008
(see release history)
Recorded 2008, Studios 301, AustraliaAustralia
Genre Pop punk
Length 36:19 (Mail On Sunday) / 48:09 (Deluxe) / 59:12 (Woolworths Deluxe)
Label Super / EMI Brazil / Avex Trax (Japan) / EMI International
Producer Jason Perry
Danny Jones
McFly chronology
Motion in the Ocean
(2006)		 Radio:ACTIVE
(2008)		 Above the Noise
(2010)
Singles from Radio:Active
  1. "The Heart Never Lies"
    Released: 22 October 2007
  2. "One for the Radio"
    Released: 9 July 2008
  3. "Lies"
    Released: 15 September 2008
  4. "Do Ya / Stay With Me"
    Released: 24 November 2008
  5. "Falling in Love"
    Released: 10 May 2009
Mail on Sunday Cover
Mail on Sunday Version
Japanese Version
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Virgin Media 2.5/5 stars[1]
Digital Spy 3/5 stars[2]
The Guardian 3/5 stars[3]
Sunday Times 2/5 stars[4]

Radio:ACTIVE is the fourth studio album by English pop punk band McFly. It is the band's first album under their new, self created label, Super Records.[5] The album was first released via a promotion with The Mail on Sunday on July 20, 2008. The album was officially released on September 22, 2008, with the official release being branded the 'Deluxe Edition'. Since its release, Radio:Active has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. "Radio:Active" received a Silver sales status certification for sales of over 90,000 copies in the UK.[6]

Contents

Background

The band made the decision to first issue the album free with The Mail on Sunday. More than 2.4 million copies of the album were given away free, which represented a 300,000 copy increase from the paper's average circulation.[7] Singer Tom Fletcher revealed the strategy: "We get to put it into almost three million homes, which is an incredible opportunity for us. Hopefully the three million people will all enjoy the music and they'll decide to see us when we go on tour." Mail on Sunday managing director Stephen Miron said both "the band and the paper were very happy with the sale".[8] The album was officially released in shops on September 22, 2008.[9] Compared to The Mail on Sunday version, this version contained four extra tracks, but removes the single "The Heart Never Lies". This edition also includes a bonus DVD and a 32-page booklet.[10] On September 29, 2008, british chain Woolworths issued an exclusive version with three bonus acoustic tracks. On 8 December 2008, a single disc version of the album was released, removing the bonus DVD and the song lyrics in the booklet. At this point, the 'deluxe version' was discontinued. In Japan, the album was available with three different covers, as way of an incentive to collect all three editions. Each edition also contained a different bonus track or DVD feature.[11][12]

Song information

Tom Fletcher explained each track in a track-by-track interview. "One For the Radio" - was originally called "Radio". Fletcher claimed: "We definitely don't want it to be seen as a negative song at all. It's more positive, you know, uniting the people together that do like us, and saying if you don't, well, we don't care as we're happy and proud of who we are." "Lies" - was only included on the official album release. The song was first performed at the 2008 Olympic Torch Event. Fletcher claimed: "It's one of the those songs that came about when we never expected it. We just couldn't resist putting on the official release." "Everybody Knows" - Fletcher claimed: "'Everybody Knows' is about growing up being in a band. When most kids were leaving school and going to college, we were leaving home and recording our debut album, so we went through those tough, teenage years together." "Do Ya" - Fletcher claimed: "'Do Ya' came about when we had the idea to write a song that everyone could sing along to. It's us doing what we do best - big, ballsy pop." "Falling In Love" - Fletcher claimed: "This song came from one of Danny's ideas. It's about a missed opportunity. Someone has left your life and you can't help but think that if she had stayed then you could have fallen in love. It's never too late, though". "POV" - Fletcher claimed: "POV has been known as the song what completes the album slow with a explosive anthemic chorus. It's about a girlfriend i had who wasn't happy no matter what I did. In the end, I realised she's making me feel so bad that I wouldn't wish for her to feel the way I do." "Corrupted" - Fletcher claimed: "This number is about a messed-up relationship, where neither partner is right for each other but both of them realize that it's the bad stuff they love. Is breaking up really what they want, when doing what they know is wrong feels so good?." "Smile" - Fletcher claimed: "I was singing in my car one day and 'Smile' just started pouring out of me. I always make sure my mobile has a voice recorder feature for such occasions. This song deals with those times when you're feeling down and you need something to smile about to get through the day. "The End" - Fletcher claimed: "It's a very slow track, but it picks up throughout. We wrote it with writing group 'The Matrix' in 2003, and it's been held back for three albums before we decided to included it on here." "Going Through The Motions" - Fletcher claimed: "We had a title, and tried to find the lyrics for the title. There was talk of us doing some sort of musical and I thought if we were going to play a band in a film again then we should be called 'The Motions.' If that ever happens, this is the track we would play." "Down Goes Another One" - Flether claimed: "The song is about the boy in the relationship with the girl from the Wonderland track "She Falls Asleep. It's meant to be heart-felt." "Only the Strong Survive" - Fletcher claimed: "It's an upbeat song, but was only considered to make the numbers on the album. It was branded the 'Weakest album track' by Digital Spy." "The Last Song" - Fletcher claimed: "Imagine being able to sing one final song before you die…you'd give it everything: slow, quiet moments, huge rock parts and lots of emotion. That's what we wanted to achieve with this one."

Singles

  • "The Heart Never Lies", which only featured on The Mail on Sunday edition, was released as a single in promotion of the group's Greatest Hits album.
  • "One for the Radio" was released as the album's official lead single.[13] "One for the Radio" received a platinum sales status certification for sales of over 100,000 in Brazil.
  • "Lies" was released as the album's second single, despite only appearing the deluxe edition of Radio:Active.[14]
  • The double A-side "Do Ya / Stay With Me" was released as the album's third single on 23 November 2008.[15] The single was also the official Children in Need single for 2008.
  • "Falling in Love" was released as a promotional single in promotion of the group's Radio:Active DVD.

Track listing

The Mail on Sunday Edition
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Do Ya"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter, Bourne 2:54
2. "Falling In Love"   Fletcher, Jones, Perry 4:27
3. "Everybody Knows"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter, Bourne 3:15
4. "Smile"   Fletcher 3:17
5. "One for the Radio"   Fletcher 3:06
6. "POV"   Fletcher 3:53
7. "Corrupted"   Fletcher, The Matrix 3:39
8. "The Heart Never Lies"   Fletcher 3:26
9. "Going Through the Motions"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter 3:25
10. "The Last Song"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter 4:51
Official 'Deluxe' Edition
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Lies"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter 3:45
2. "One for the Radio"   Fletcher 3:06
3. "Everybody Knows"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter, Bourne 3:15
4. "Do Ya"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter, Bourne 2:54
5. "Falling In Love"   Fletcher, Jones, Perry 4:29
6. "POV"   Fletcher 3:55
7. "Corrupted"   Fletcher, The Matrix 3:41
8. "Smile"   Fletcher 3:17
9. "The End"   Fletcher, Christy, Edwards, Spock, Clark 3:44
10. "Going Through the Motions"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter 3:23
11. "Down Goes Another One"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter 4:17
12. "Only the Strong Survive"   Fletcher, Perry 3:35
13. "The Last Song"   Fletcher, Jones, Poynter 4:48

Personnel

Tour

The fifteen date Radio:ACTIVE tour took place throughout November 2008. A live concert DVD was filmed at Wembley Arena on November 27, 2008 and released on May 11, 2009.

  • Tour Dates
  1. November 3 - Sheffield Arena
  2. November 5 - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
  3. November 6 - Belfast Odyssey
  4. November 8 - Dublin RDS
  5. November 11 - Birmingham NEC
  6. November 12 - Bournemouth Internation Centre
  7. November 14 - Brighton Centre
  8. November 16 - Cardiff Internation Arena
  9. November 18 - Plymouth Pavilions, Nottingham Arena
  10. November 20 - Manchester Evening News Arena
  11. November 22 - Aberdeen AECC
  12. November 25 - Glasgow SECC
  13. November 27 - London Wembley Arena
  14. November 28 - Liverpool Echo Arena
  • Setlist
  1. "One For The Radio"
  2. "Everybody Knows"
  3. "Going Through The Motions"
  4. "Obviously"
  5. "Transylvania"
  6. "Corrupted"
  7. "POV"
  8. "Falling In Love"
  9. "Star Girl"
  10. "That Girl"
  11. "Do Ya"
  12. "Black Or White"
  13. "Room On The 3rd Floor"
  14. "All About You"
  15. "The Last Song"
  16. "Lies"
  17. "Five Colours In Her Hair"

Chart performance

Chart (2008) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart
8
Irish Album Chart
26
Billboard European Top 100 Albums
34
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart
49
Japan Oricon Weekly International Albums Chart
15

Release history

Region Date Label Format
United Kingdom 22 September 2008 Super Records CD+DVD, CD, Digital download
Ireland 22 September 2008 Super Records
Brazil[16][17] 27 October 2008 EMI Music Brazil
Japan[18] 11 February 2009 Avex Trax
Mexico, Argentina, Colombia 18 May 2009 EMI Music
Latin America 26 May 2009 EMI Music
Singapore 12 June 2009 Warner Music
Philippines[19] November 2009 Warner Music
Spain 1 December 2009 EMI Music Spain

References

  1. ^ Virgin Media review
  2. ^ Digital Spy review
  3. ^ The Guardian review
  4. ^ Sunday Times review
  5. ^ "We're gonna McFly solo lads tell record label Tag". The Mirror.co.uk. 17 May 2008. http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/3am/2008/05/17/we-re-gonna-mcfly-solo-lads-tell-record-label-89520-20420212/. Retrieved 18 May 2008. 
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ Brook, Stephen and Caitlin Fitzsimmons. "McFly album giveaway lifts Mail on Sunday sales to 2.4m". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/23/pressandpublishing1. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  8. ^ Brook, Stephen and Caitlin Fitzsimmons. "McFly album giveaway lifts Mail on Sunday sales to 2.4m". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/23/pressandpublishing1. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  9. ^ "McFly announce new album giveaway". BBC.co.uk. 24 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7472226.stm. Retrieved 24 June 2008. 
  10. ^ "McFly And The Mail On Sunday Unite To Give Away New Album ‘Radio:ACTIVE’". London: DailyMail.co.uk. 24 June 2008. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080627102957/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/prmts/article-1029113/McFly-And-The-Mail-On-Sunday-Unite-To-Give-Away-New-Album--8216-Radio-ACTIVE-8217.html. Retrieved 26 June 2008. 
  11. ^ "Radio:ACTIVE(DVD付き)【CD】-McFly (マクフライ)｜オルタナティヴ/パンク｜ロック｜音楽｜HMV ONLINE オンラインショッピング・情報サイト". Hmv.co.jp. http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/3475939. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
  12. ^ "Discography：MCFLY Official Website". Avexnet.or.jp. 2008-11-26. http://www.avexnet.or.jp/mcfly/disc.html. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
  13. ^ "McFly Confirm New Album Details Tag". Hereward.co.uk. 20 May 2008. http://www.hereward.co.uk/article.asp?id=709276. Retrieved 20 May 2008. 
  14. ^ BBC Radio 2 Steve Right in the Afternoon (5 August 2008)
  15. ^ "Mcfly doing the Official Children in Need Single". McFly.com. 31 October 2008. http://mcfly.com/newsfull.aspx?targetid=168. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  16. ^ [2][dead link]
  17. ^ McFly - a banda inglesa é a mais nova contratação da EMI Music Brasil
  18. ^ "MCFLY Official Website". Avexnet.or.jp. 2009-02-19. http://avexnet.or.jp/mcfly/index.html. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
  19. ^ "Mcfly'S Radio:Active Album Now Sold On Philippine Stores!!". Mcflyphilippines.forumakers.com. http://mcflyphilippines.forumakers.com/what-s-new-f15/mcfly-s-radioactive-album-now-sold-on-philippine-stores-t449.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
McFly
Room on the 3rd Floor
Wonderland
Motion in the Ocean
Radio:Active
Above the Noise
Other albums
Video albums
Films
Tours
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