Talkin' 'bout a few generations

Indeed, Roger Daltrey gave the boy band his approval by recording My Generation with them. Although, had he lived, you suspect Keith Moon might well have thrown the clean-cut McFly from the nearest hotel room window, along with the TV set.

Fortunately for Tom, Danny, Dougie and Harry, defenestration is not on the cards just yet. Eighteen months after they emerged, McFly are the biggest pop group in Britain. So, for three nights, Wembley was host to thousands of screaming pre-teens.

The shrill excitement began even before the gig, although Angelina Jolie's appearance on the giant screens during a celebrity montage prompted homicidal booing (10-year-old girls adore Brad Pitt, apparently.)

The party atmosphere was restored when McFly launched into the soppy, punk-pop I've Got You. And the fans' favourites seemed to be singers Danny Jones and 20-year-old Tom Fletcher.

Although not particularly charismatic, they can both play guitar and share a juvenile pleasure in belching and songs about diarrhoea.

McFly did get serious on a bizarre piano ballad about suicide. But in the main, they put on an exciting show with oodles of teenage energy and a pair of giant inflatable female legs (with equally huge McFly pants).

At times, the band were surprisingly powerful. The psychedelic Ultraviolet could have been by Oasis, while their cover of The Who's Pinball Wizard was irresistible. And in a further nod to a previous generation, McFly dedicated The Ballad of Paul K to all the dads at Wembley. "It's about a mid-life crisis," said Tom helpfully.

With lyrics about "grey hairs in the shower" and "time not on your side", it had a certain poignancy because, of course, McFly are not made to last.

But for now, they can - like the fireworks that closed the show - burn brightly.

McFly
HMV Apollo
Queen Caroline Street, W6 9QH