One of my favorite parts of this trip was explaining to my sister what PUDD & FLONES stand for.
Which means....
This is PUDD.
Dougie: I don’t know how I always end up naked. Harry: ‘Cause I strip him. Dougie: Harry likes to strip me. Does anyone else think that that’s weird? Harry: What? Dougie: That Harry likes to strip me - does anyone else think that that’s just a tiny bit… Odd? Harry: Why is that weird? It’s just… Harmless flirting. Dougie: It’s a flirting, is it? You haven’t told me that. Harry:[Laughing] I’m flirting with you. I’m flirting with you right now, look at my body language. Look at your body language. You don’t even know it.
This is FLONES.
Interviewer: Are you guys dating?
Danny: Yes.
Tom: (Face like: it was a secret)
So there you go, thats a daily dose of Pudd & Flones for ya :)
I was told to go to the arena at 5pm to meet up with Sam, who was going to take me around the arena to meet the boys. So I arrived at the arena around 4:40pm to see my friend Bronwyn. She happened to know a bunch of people who were coming to the show so I hung out with them for a bit and met loads of cool fans. McFLY fans are honestly the best fandom out there - they are extremely friendly and pretty much go up to anyone to start chatting. They even helped raise money in line for Izzy’s charity (Harry’s girlfriend).
5pm arrived so I called Sam. He told me that they sent a new email out saying to arrive at the arena at 6pm. This kind of upsetted me since it was pretty cold outside. It also didn’t help the arena is right next to the water (just like American Airlines) so it kept on getting colder by the minute. At around 5:30 Sam comes out so I go up to introduce myself. He then told me something horrible: Tom and Dougie would not be able to make it to the interview due to prior commitments. I then gave him the death stare.....
I told him how I love McFLY but the reason I really came was for TOM, AND THAT I NEED TOM RIGHT NOW. He looked a bit freaked out when I told him this. I told him how I was going to the next two shows (Birmingham and London) and if I can meet Tom and Dougie there, which he agreed to do for me.
At 5:30 they allowed fan club members into the arena for early access and for a quick Q&A with Harry and Danny. However, I wasn’t able to go since I had to meet up with Sam in half an hour :(
6pm arrived and I met up with the other presenter Lauren who was awesome. We chatted a bit about how upset we were on how Tom and Dougie weren’t going to be able to make it and stuff. Sam then leads us backstage to a lounge where the boys will be at for some meet & greets offered by local radio stations. Then to our surprise ALL 4 COME OUT.....MEANING TOM COMES OUT. TOM FREAKING FLETCHER. I begin to spazz out (as you can imagine).
I was a couple of yards away from them and my contacts were acting up so I couldn't see their faces clearly but I WAS SEEING THEM....IN THE FLESH! I waited for them to meet a couple of fans and then it was my turn...!
I go up to the table where two of their bodyguards are at to drop off my tour program and poster for them to sign. I started chatting with one of the bodyguards and he asks me what’s up with all the American girls flying in. I tell him how if they don't want to come to States then I'm coming over here (I purposely said this out loud so that they and their management can hear).
Danny then comes up to me doing this little dance and gorgeous smile, and SO Danny. He overheard my name when I was talking to the bodyguard so he comes up and says “Hello Jessica from Miami!” and gives me a nice big hug. He then says “I’m Danny, nice to meet you.” I respond back by saying “same here!” which he says “wait...your name is Danny too?” I tell him “no, I meant ‘same here’ as in it’s nice meeting you too.” Once again....SO Danny. Completely lost.
Then Dougie comes saying “Jesssicaaaa” and gives me a hug. Then TOM GIVES ME A HUG AND I ALMOST DIDN’T LET GO. I actually thought about kidnapping him at that moment. No lie. But I knew I wouldn't get far so I didn't bother. Then Harry comes in for a hug too. They are big on hugs as you can see.
I was a bit surprised by Dougie ‘cause he’s pretty friendly but keeps his distance from fans but he seemed really comfortable. In all the other interviews he wanders around the room and starts playing with the camera and stuff while the others talk to the fans but he stayed chatting with us.
They brought up how I came all the way from America and Harry says “you didn’t come from America JUST to see us right?” which I said “yup....all for you guys!” which they were like really happy about. I then gave them their candy (candy that cannot be found in the UK like Pop Rocks, 3 Musketeers, Sour Skittles, Hershey’s Cookies & Cream, and Twizzlers) as a way of luring them back to the USA. Then I told Tom I had something special for him which he got excited about. I pulled out the Simba combo pack and he was really surprised! He was like “omg, he’s got a tail!” :’) Then I gave him the one I hand painted for him which he seemed to like!
We go on talking about Disney and how he has a friend in California who plays ‘Mickey’ and buys him the Vinylmations and ships it to him, but he was telling me how the shipping is expensive and all so he limits it down to the ones he really wants. Then we get set up for the interview, I still have my bag on me but Danny helps me and gets it from me to put on the table, que lindo :’)
We start the interview and it was hilarious and amusing from start to finish! I had a blast hanging out with them and talking to them. I was really chilled and collective, which surprised me. I guess I’m so use to seeing them on web chats and daily videos uploaded to their site that I feel like I know them. In the interview I handed Danny my mini microphone necklace which he LOVED. He was extremely amused by it.
and then I asked Tom which is his favorite park which he says MK/MGM and then he says he loves the Toy Story ride!!! WE ARE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER DAMMIT! Then Sam motions to us behind the camera that we only have time for one more question so I tell Lauren to do one of hers since she had good ones. They answer her question but then TOM SAYS TO ME"OH I THINK YOU HAD ANOTHER ONE" .... HE LOVES ME!!!!!
Right after they stop filming Dougie comes over and says “good interview guys!” and gives me a hug again. Then they all come and give me more hugs which I absolutely loved. Danny comes and hands me the necklace with this puppy dog look in his eyes which I knew meant he wanted it. I tell him how he can keep it. He’s hesitant, which means he REALLY wants it. Tom then tells me “don’t let him have it, he looses everything!” which I say “Tom, he’s Danny Jones. He’s a rockstar, he needs a blinged out microphone in his life” which Danny agrees on and hands me his iPhone. I say “okay then, even trade right?” which he laughs and says yes. He then tells me how the necklace is mine and he can’t take it away from me which I tell him that I literally just bought it a couple of days ago and that I can go back and get a new one. He then flashed me one of those famous Danny Jones smile :) He then asks me to take a picture of him with it - hehe.
They start positioning themselves for a group pic and god knows I would've told Danny/Harry/Dougie to move if Tom wasn't next to me. I would've seriously said something. No lie.
Tom thanks me for coming from Florida and for the Vinylmations. He then gave me and Lauren one of the 'mcfly' picks they use at their shows :')
I then talked to Danny for a bit and he asked me if I came with anyone so I tell him I came with my dad and sister. Then I mentioned how much Jen loves him and if he could do a quick shout out for her. He says sure and makes her a cute little video...once again, que lindo :’)
I love PUDD but FLONES had my vote from this moment on (Confused on these terms? Check out the blog above this) Danny and Tom were so nice to me and kept talking to me, while Harry and Dougie talked to Lauren. Then we say our goodbyes which was when more hugs are exchanged. They are definitely huggers. I go to the table to collect my purse and signed items when Tom comes up to me (DEAD) and starts chatting with me again, even though they were just told they had to go. He could sense he was the favorite, for sure, I mean, every time he would talk I’m pretty sure I had these googly eyes.
We started talking about the candy in the bag and the 3 Musketeers bar. We legit spent a whole minute talking about the 3 Musketeer bar 'cause he was genuinely interested in it's texture and color and how it would taste. That's Tom for ya, so curious. He then asks me if I have a twitter (which I knew what THAT meant - I mean, he is the KING of Twitter). I look in my bag for a pen, but I didn’t have one. So he hands me his sharpie and I grab a paper from my purse and start writing my screen name. I thought this was funny ‘cause it seemed he wanted my autograph ;) We talked a bit more and he thanked me again and told me how I hope I enjoy the show.
Sam then leads us through some doors to access the venue through the way the guys do when they go on stage. He then tells us how we are going to record a quick video saying sorry that it wasn’t live and thanks for watching the interview. I tell Lauren to say the sorry part and I would say the thanks part. Dave (their camera guy) turns on the bright light and I start to panic. Lauren does great and THEN I TALK.....*facepalm*
I tell them thanks for watching and then I freeze....and say “we love you guys” o_O so then we walk away. I tell Sam how I freaked out and how I didn’t make any sense, which he found amusing. I HOPE THEY EDIT ME OUT OF THAT VIDEO (They didn't but I edited it out in the video I uploaded to youtube lol)
I went to the merchandise stand so I can get my friend one of their posters from their Attitude photo shoot (the ones they were all naked). When I tell the guy I want that poster he says “you cheeky little thing!” which I found hilarious. I told him how it was for a friend which he responded back by saying “thats what they all say!” In the end I ended up buying one ;)
OH HAYYYYYY NAKED MCFLY.
also got this one :)
Then the show starts!!!! It was amazing! They did my top 3 favorite songs so I was a happy girl :) They pulled some surprises I wasn’t expecting. I knew on their last tour they had a floating stage that took them to stage b for a song or two so I looked at the arena’s ceiling for any clues. I could tell there was a lot of work done up there so I was a bit suspicious. Turns out I was right, they had this kind of floating cat walk thing where they performed Star Girl (one of my top 3 favorites). Dougie was also extremely talkative then usual and kept talking every minute he could. Tom also came over to Dougie side for the whole Transylvania song which I panicked cause HE’S SO PERFCT AND WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
Oh! At he Wembley show his dad came on stage to sing "Smile" with them and it was sooo cuteeee ! and Tom killed me at every show when he would give his "thank you" speech :') and when he changed the lyrics of 'The Heart Never Lies' from "another year over, and we're still together, it's not always easy but i'm here forever" to "another year over, and we're still together, it's not always easy but MCFLY's here forever"QUE LINDO BRO!<33333
And let me just state that I died EVERYTIME he sang "I Need A Woman". Ladies, you WILL wet your panties when you listen to him in this song. His voice is so fjbjkfbbfhbfhg!!!
Then I go back to the hotel and I see Tom's tweet to me which confirms that HE LOVES ME. I'll be honest, I'm a total creeper on his twitter page and I haven't seen him tweet a fan for kicks & giggles in a while so like I said before.... HE REALLY DOES LOVE ME!
Then I come home and I find pap pictures of Tom going to their hotel after the Liverpool show carrying MY BAG. I brought all their presents in that bag and Sam, Harry, Dougie, Danny, or any of their people weren't carrying the bag......TOM WAS CARRYING THE BAG.
HE LOVES ME SO MUCH!!!!
Overall the show was incredible, and I'm having major withdrawals :(
Here is a quick re-cap video I made of my meeting and footage I took during the 3 shows. Skip to the end to see an AMAZING ending :)
OH! I'm not sure where to fit this in but my sister loves Danny now so here's how one of our convo's went....
Sister: "Does Danny have a girlfriend?"(very hopeful tone) Me: "Yeah......um......she's actually Miss England....o_O"
and this picture DOES NOT do her justice, it's just one I can find with the Miss England banner.
Before I got to meet McFly on the historic March 29 2011, I got to meet another musician that I have looked up to throughout my childhood. So if you want to skip to Mcfly scroll allllll the way down, or all the way up, not sure how this site works yet...
Anyways, his name is Jon Lee (he was in the band S Club 7). I've looked up to Jon for the past 10 years and it was fate that he joined the London cast of Jersey Boys the same week I was traveling to London. March 27th was honestly one of the best days of my life, if not THE best day (passing the day I met Mcfly). It's actually up there with the day I was born, true fact.
He was part of the group that influenced me growing up. Whenever I think about my childhood S Club always comes up. My life revolved around them and they literally changed my life. I still remember the day I found out about them. I was home from Christmas vacation, scrolling the channels when I saw a commerical for an S Club marathon on New Years Day in 2001....and my life never became the same. They were the ones who really introuduced me to music. Of course I listened to the regular bands of the 90's (Youngstown, BBMAK, Nsync, LFO, etc) but S Club's music really stood out to me. They ultimately made me realize how much I love the performing arts and influenced me in wanting a job in the entertainment industry.
Therefore, SEEING JON was the highlight of my life. Seeing someone who has influenced your life for the past 10 years is a thrill. Especially knowing all these years that there is no way i'll ever see an S Clubber (for the simple fact of them living in another country). I absoultely loooooove Jersey Boys when it came to Miami so seeing Jon play the lead role was amazing! I started bawling as soon as the lights went off for the simple fact that I would finally be seeing Jon after waiting so many years. I honestly can't descirbe how amazing he was. The role of Frankie is very difficult due to his unique voice and the way he can hit extremely high notes continiously so seeing Jon perform so well was thrilling. I knew Jon had to be good because I've seen the play before and knew what to expect but he passed my expectations (and they were verrrrry high). I would tell you if he sucked, but he didn't.
I know he signs autographs after the show so I literally ran to the stage door and waited for him. Withtin 2 minutes a bunch of people were there which made me nervous considering I wanted to talk to Jon and not just a quick 'Hi'. THEN HE CAME OUT....AND I FLIPPED A SHIT. At first I just stood there watching him like the creeper I am. It's really hard to believe he was so close to me. After a huge mob of teens left I went up to him and told him how I was the girl who sent him some tweets saying I was flying from America to see him which he was like "oh yeah!" (I honestly believe he remembered me for the simple fact that I would harass him to make sure he was performing that Sunday when I arrived in London - and he never tweeted any other fan except me). We took a picture and then he moved on to the next person. I moved aside and just stared from the distance again....sigh. I love him <3 I wish our meeting was longer but I'll take it!
I believe the stars were alligned when I booked this trip just for the simple fact that I got to not only see but also meet Jon <33333 (infendite hearts). If it was any other S Clubber than maybe I wouldn't freak out as much but it was JON. He was my favorite guy from the group and my second favorite in the band.
In the end he started this trip off right. I wasn't in London for more than 5 hours and I already got to meet one of my childhood idols.
ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION
I JUST FOUND IN THE LAST 0.2 SECONDS THAT ALL 7 OF THEM WHERE AT THE THEATER 2 DAYS BEFORE I WENT. FCUK MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. THEY ALL HAVEN'T REUNITED IN YEARS AND I COULD'VE BEEN THERE IF I BOOKED MY TRIP 2 DAYS EARLIER.
I CANT EVEN DEAL WITH THIS RIGHT NOW.
EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO ON AND BE DEPRESSED THE REST OF MY LIFE.....