Fly-on-the-wall reality shows don't have the greatest of reputations these days. Peter Andre, Kerry Katona and Katie Price have slurred the format's name with their tireless self-promotion. But do they always have to be tedious and grubby? Pop Kings McFly want to buck the trend with insider documentary series McFly On The Wall - yes, they went there - following their day-to-day lives in the band. Digital Spy had our doubts about the show, so went into battle with the boys and made them defend their latest project.
McFly on the Wall - it's a dreadful title, isn't it? Harry: "Well, the journalist we spoke to before you thought it was a genius name. I'm actually more agreeing with you, but it does make sense. It's a fly-on-the-wall documentary. So... McFly on the Wall."
Dougie: "I wanted to call it McFly's Awesome Breakdancing DVD."
Tom: "It was either that or McFly Unzipped and that's even more cheesy!"
Danny: "I thought it should be called Danny and His Friends."
Isn't this what The Monkees did in the '60s? Are you not a bit behind the times? Tom: "You've caught us red-handed. We were given these by someone earlier today [hands over Monkees CD]."
Harry: "Yeah, I suppose. I think the fans for some reason like to see what we get up to."
Tom: "It's not a scripted show, it's a documentary and I think some people are interested in what a band's lifestyle is like. We don't live the lives that many people think we do."
Will you now become grubby tabloid fodder like Katona and Andre? The Band: "Definitely."
Harry: "I think ours is documenting... actually...that's exactly what their shows are doing, isn't it?"
Tom: "None of our show is set up. I would never do a camera shot that's been staged. We've been steering away from that and wanted to stay clear of that."
Harry: "The furthest we'll go is if we say something and they ask us to do it again from a different angle. But we've very rarely even been doing that. Our references were... and don't get me wrong this is probably wrong..."
Dougie: "We're not even going to get close to it..."
Harry: "Yeah, we're probably not even close, but our references were Riding Giants, Dogtown and Z-Boys. More documentaries than reality shows."
Will this show finally expose you as boring and dull? Harry: "We are absolutely boring and normal. They are trying to get stuff out of us and they are like, 'what do you do when you get home?' I'm like, 'mow the lawn!' It's not really that exciting."
Tom: "We had a couple of days off and they were like, 'do you want to go sky-diving?', and we were like, 'no, not really'. I think people's perceptions of us and what bands are really like are wrong. You do get glamorous rock and roll stuff every now and then, but it doesn't happen all the time."
Harry: "I think four other guys in this position we were put in when we were 17 would have taken much more advantage of it."
Tom: "We have experienced that stereotypical rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but I think we do live as ordinary lives as possible."
Have McFly always been a poor man's Busted? Danny: "Definitely not. We're a rich man's Busted."
In what way are you a rich man's. They sang 'Year 3000'? Tom: "We're still around. How many albums did they do anyway? Two? I wrote most of their No.1s anyway."
Rest of the band: "Wooooh!"
When you finally split up, which one will become the reality TV whore? Tom: "Dougie."
Dougie: "Dougie on Ice."
Harry: "If you do ever see me doing that, please know that it was just for the money. These guys have lots of ability, which I don't really have, so I may just be taking part to pay for a new kitchen or pay for kids or what have you."
Are you not a manipulated boyband with people pulling the strings behind the scenes? Danny: "That's part of the reason we are doing this. We want people to know what we do behind the scenes. Not everybody knows that about us. We choose things like the colour of the symbol on our album. That sounds a bit rubbish doesn't it?"
Tom: "That's the amount of creative control we have."
Dougie: "[In Little Britain Andy voice] I want a red one."
Are McFly old news? Are people not listening to The Wanted instead now? Tom: "The Wanted are doing well. I suppose the test for them will be the next album."
Dougie: "I think the thing we always say is that we have been out now.... as openly gay men.... no.... we've been around for what is it? Seven years ago, I think we released our first album, and I think the challenge for any boyband - and we were a boyband with a twist - is have longevity. I think so far we've done."
Harry: "I don't want to speak for the other bands, but we are genuinely best friends. It is out there and there is nobody telling us what to do."
Dougie: "I think that shows as well where things have gone wrong. We admit it and hold our hands up. We approach things like any other rock band or actual band."
Tom: "A lot of people's issue with us is down to our demographic, but who is going to be unhappy with the people that buy their albums. That's one frustrating thing for us, that we get compared to these pop bands and we've released five albums, pretty much 100% written by us. Other pop bands rely on having good songs written for them."
Danny: "We have a lot more pressure. We even choose the colour of the band label on the albums!"
And finally, after all these years, there must be one member of the band that the other three hate? The Band: "Yeah."
Harry: "That would suck"
Danny: "I think it's me secretly."
Dougie: "I think we work because we are a band and we know our roles and always have done."
Danny: "Your the bitch!"
Dougie: "Tom is the songwriter, Danny is the frontman and me and Harry are the rhythm section, the most bad-ass members of the band."
Danny: "They sit at the back of the bus, while me and Tom are sat at the front doing maths." מצטערת אין לי כוח לתרגם, אם מישהי רוצה היא מוזמנת