Busted and McFly trade insults as they announce 'ultimate battle of the bands' 2025 tour

Busted and McFly are going head to head on a joint tour 20 years in the making, where they will fight it out to be crowned the best band once and for all

by · Irish Mirror

It's good news for millennials as two of the finest bands of the 2000s are ready to take to the stage once again.

Forget the Oasis reunion - 2025 will see Busted and McFly not only go on an epic tour but both bands are set to battle it out for the ultimate crown of pop supremacy.

James Bourne, who makes up one third of Busted alongside Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis, teased on Wednesday night: "The whole tour is to find out who's a better band. Fans can decide. They can come and support their band and they might change their mind. It's going to be a fight to the death."

Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis gatecrashing McFly's gig last night(Image: Getty Images)

Matt, who has been busy presenting Love Is Blind with his wife Emma Willis lately, added to the fighting talk as he quipped: "It has been a long time coming, this tour. Fans have wanted this. There's a massive crossover in the fanbases but secretly I think everyone likes Busted more."

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Those wanting to decide for themselves will have to nab tickets when they go on sale on Friday, October 18. The boys will be playing 14 dates across the UK and Ireland and will kick things off in Birmingham on September 16, 2025. The supergroup will play Dublin's 3Arena on October 20 next year. The epic tour comes a decade on from the first McBusted tour.

McFly lads Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd, and Dougie Poynter teamed up with Busted's Matt and James to take on the world as McBusted, even dropping a Top Ten album. But one man was missing - Charlie. Charlie might have not been in the original McBusted line-up but he's more than happy to indulge in the trash talk.

McFly and Busted - minus Charlie - in 2013(Image: Getty Images)

As McFly drummer Harry joked that Busted had "milked" their 20th anniversary and needed his band to "save them" once again, Charlie hit back with: "We said, 'We don't want to go out again, but we will if we have to take you on. You can support us one more time, yes. Just like you did in 2004'."

The cheeky banter took place at London's O2 Arena on Wednesday night when Busted rocked up during McFly's set, according to The Sun. Officially announcing the tour on Thursday morning, both bands released footage from the gig on social media and the moment Busted challenged McFly to "the ultimate face-off".

"Every saga has an ending. BUSTED VS McFLY Tour 2025. The ultimate battle of the bands. Tickets on sale 9am Friday 18th October, sign up now for presale access. Are you in?" Busted and McFly captioned the advert.

Fans went wild in the comments, with one admitting: "My ears are still ringing from the noise in the stadium when they announced this!" Another fan in the crowd at the O2 for the live announcement gushed: "OMG what a night, Euphoria is the only way I can describe it. Thank you guys for one to remember."

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