At the weekend, pop-rock supergroup McBusted, or technically Busted v McFly for the purposes of their current collaborative tour outing, made history when they took to the stage at AO Arena, Manchester, as the first tour to play all six Legends Global arenas in the UK in a single run, cementing their status as some of the UK best-loved pop-rock icons a quarter of a century of Busted first inauspiciously burst onto the teen-rock scene as The Termites.
The Manchester show marked the final venue in this record-breaking clean sweep, which saw the supergroup perform at Legends Global arenas including first direct bank arena (Leeds), OVO Arena Wembley, Utilita Arena (Newcastle and Sheffield), and P&J Live (Aberdeen). To mark this milestone, AO Arena general manager Gemma Vaughan, Brian Celler, SVP content & programming (UK/EU/INTL) at Legends Global and Ross Allerton, programming manager at Legends Global, presented the band with bespoke artwork to commemorate the achievement.
Busted and McFly said, “We love playing here, we have so many great memories in these venues!”
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Toby Leighton-Pope, managing director at tour promoter TEG Europe, added, “This has been a phenomenal tour, watching two iconic bands collide and take the UK by storm has been a huge privilege. And to become the first tour to play all six Legends Global UK arenas in a single run is an achievement that speaks volumes about the bands and their brilliantly loyal fans all around the country. Thank you to the team at Legends Global for helping us to create these unforgettable moments. The energy at every single venue has been amazing, and reaching the milestone in Manchester at the AO Arena makes it even more special. I have no doubt that this tour is one for the history books.”
Programming manager Allerton added: “It was incredible to see Busted and McFly play to so many fans up and down the UK, creating core memories with their much-loved hits. The production and stage presence they brought to each venue has been electric and it felt right to make sure we marked the occasion properly. Congratulations to the bands on becoming the first to achieve this milestone at our Legends Global UK venues – we’ve enjoyed every second.”
In celebration of the Manchester date, the band signed and donated one of their guitars to Forever Manchester, contributing to supporting communities across the Greater Manchester region.
AO Arena GM Vaughan said: “We are so delighted to have been part of this massive arena sweep here in Manchester. Busted and McFly put on an incredible performance, and that’s not forgetting their generous donation to Forever Manchester to top it all off. We’re thrilled that they’ve chosen to give back to the local community in such a special way. Congratulations to the bands on this huge achievement, and thank you for choosing to celebrate it with us.”
