"5 Colours in Her Hair" is the debut single by English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band McFly. It was also the band's first

UK number one The UK Singles Chart is a weekly record chart which for most of its history was based on single sales from Sunday to Saturday in the United Kingdom. Since July 2014 it has also incorporated streaming data, and from 10 July 2015 has been based o ...

. 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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It also reached number seven in Ireland. The song was inspired by Susan Lee, a character played by actress

Emily Corrie Emily Corrie (born 1978) is a British former sailor and actress. She is known in the United Kingdom for playing the character Suzanne 'Sooz' Lee in the Channel 4 drama '' As If'' and latterly in the American version of the same show. Early life ...

in the TV series '' As If'', who wore coloured dreadlocks. The music itself is indebted to 1960s surf and

beat music Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle ...

. The song was also nominated for

The Record of the Year The Record of the Year was an award voted by the United Kingdom public. For many years it was given in conjunction with television programmes of the same name. The first show ran in the early evening on a December Saturday just before Christmas ...

in 2004, but finished in second place just one point behind the winner, "

Thunderbirds / 3AM "Thunderbirds / 3AM" (titled "Thunderbirds Are Go" on some editions of the single and album) is a double A-side single by English pop punk band Busted. It was released on 26 July 2004 as the fourth single from their second studio album, ''A P ...

" 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 ''Popworld'' is a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the T4 strand, featuring pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from contemporary artists. The show began ...

''. 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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and the Beach Boys. The video was shot in front of a

green screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...

. It stars Molly Portsmouth as the 'Girl with 5 Colours in Her Hair'.

US version

A rerecorded

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

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 "Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock band Queen featured on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' that was released as a single in 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les ...

" single release in the UK, as well as on the '' All the Greatest Hits'' deluxe fan edition. It would go on to be the default way they would perform the song live.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

In 2014, a cover of the track featured on the release of the Vamps' second single " Wild Heart".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:5 Colours in Her Hair 2004 debut singles 2004 songs Island Records singles McFly songs Number-one singles in Scotland Songs written by Danny Jones Songs written by James Bourne Songs written by Tom Fletcher UK Singles Chart number-one singles Universal Records singles