5 Colours in Her Hair explained

5 Colours in Her Hair
Cover:5 Colours in Her Hair - McFly cover art.JPG
Type:single
Artist:McFly
Album:Room on the 3rd Floor
B-Side:Lola
Length:2:58
Label:
Producer:Craig Hardy
Next Title:Obviously
Next Year:2004

"5 Colours in Her Hair" is the debut single by English pop rock band McFly. It was also the band's first UK number one. It stayed at the top for two weeks. The song was written by Tom Fletcher, James Bourne, Danny Jones and Ben Sargeant. The track is especially well known for its "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo!" lyrics, played at the beginning and at the ending of the song. The CD and 7-inch formats features a duet with Busted singing a cover of the Kinks song "Lola".

Overall, it spent twelve weeks in the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number seven in Ireland. The song was inspired by Susan Lee, a character played by actress Emily Corrie in the TV series As If, who wore coloured dreadlocks.[1] [2] The music itself is indebted to 1960s surf and beat music. The song was also nominated for The Record of the Year in 2004, but finished in second place just one point behind the winner, "Thunderbirds / 3AM" by Busted.

Music video

McFly shot the video for their debut single "5 Colours in Her Hair" just after Christmas 2003. Simon Amstell recorded an interview and footage behind the scenes for Channel 4 music show, Popworld. The video begins by introducing the band members in a comical style, by getting Danny and Dougie's names wrong. It also features the band messing around at various different scenes, but telling the overall main story about a girl with 5 colours in her hair, who was miserable and living in a black and white world. She then follows them into the TV where she joins the band in a club setting where the band are playing to a crowd. They also shoot various well known scenes as a tribute to their main influences including the Beatles and the Beach Boys. The video was shot in front of a green screen. It stars Molly Portsmouth as the 'Girl with 5 Colours in Her Hair'.

US version

A rerecorded pop punk version of the song appeared on the Just My Luck album, McFly's debut album in the US. It also features minor lyrical alterations. The song was included on the "Please, Please" single release in the UK, as well as on the All the Greatest Hits deluxe fan edition.[3] It would go on to be the default way they would perform the song live.

Charts

Year-end charts

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United Kingdom29 March 2004[6]
Japan7 July 2004CD[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: TV teen drama actress joins Navy. BBC News. 8 October 2009. 8 October 2009.
  2. News: CBBC Newsround: HOTSEAT. In the hotseat: McFly. BBC. 8 October 2009 . 3 April 2004.
  3. Web site: McBusted Hyde Park . Mcflyofficial.com . 2014-04-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130407043205/http://www.mcflyofficial.com/ . 7 April 2013 .
  4. Hits of the World – Eurocharts. Billboard. 116. 16. 57. 17 April 2004. 20 March 2020.
  5. Web site: The Official UK Singles Chart 2004. UKChartsPlus. 7 July 2018.
  6. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 39. 27 March 2004.
  7. Web site: 2004/7月新譜リリース表. July 2004 New Release List. Universal Music Japan. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20041206000932fw_/http://www.universal-music.co.jp/u-pop/mein/release/0407.html. 6 December 2004. 28 August 2023.