Radio:Active

Background

McFly 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. 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". The album was officially released in shops on 22 September 2008. 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.

On 29 September 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.

Song information

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 include 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" – Fletcher 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

Personnel

Tour

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

1. 7 November – Sheffield Arena
2. 8 November – Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
3. 10 November – Belfast Odyssey
4. 11 November – Dublin RDS
5. 14 November – Birmingham NEC
6. 15 November – Bournemouth International Centre
7. 16 November – Plymouth Pavilions
8. 18 November – Brighton Centre
9. 19 November – Cardiff International Centre
10. 21 November – Nottingham Arena
11. 22 November – Manchester Arena
12. 24 November – Aberdeen AECC
13. 25 November – Glasgow SECC
14. 27 November – London Wembley Arena
15. 29 November – Liverpool Echo Arena

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"