McFly's 21st birthday party on ITV1 this weekend

Tony Blair was still Prime Minister, the London congestion charge was introduced, the war in Iraq began, 'Dirty' Den Watts returned to EastEnders after a fourteen-year absence, Jude Bellingham was born and Concorde made its last commercial flight.

During the same twelve-month period, four young men, including one from Bromley Cross – Tom Fletcher, Bolton's Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter – came together to form McFly, a pop-rock act that had conquered the British charts within a year . by storm.

Since then they have had 18 consecutive top 20 UK chart positions, seven of which have reached No. 1; they have also sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

In 2013, the quartet teamed up with their old friends from Busted to form supergroup McBusted, and next year they're planning to do something similar – tickets are already available and are selling like hotcakes.

21 arena dates have been announced, with 110,000 fans expected to see them in London alone.

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But before that, McFly (they named themselves after Michael J Fox's character in the Back to the Future franchise, in case you were wondering) are celebrating their 21st anniversary: ​​“We still can't believe it's been 21 years! ” The band members claim this in a statement from ITV ahead of this weekend's TV special.

“But what a way to look back on many great memories and celebrate with the people who made it all possible: our fans. We had a great time playing the shows and can't wait for the audiences at home to get the chance to party with us – we only turn 21 once!”

If you haven't guessed yet, the program was recorded at The O2 in London during a series of festive concerts and features performances of some of their biggest hits, from their breakthrough single Five Colors in Her Hair to songs from their most successful hit singles. recent album, last year's Power to Play.

We're also promised action from backstage, as well as a glimpse into how the shows were put together.

Liz Clare from production company Gold Dust Films comments: “Gold Dust Films were thrilled to be part of this huge celebration of McFly and 21 years of their music. It has been a passion project for the band and we are delighted to bring this special concert and all their backstage fun to ITV. But most importantly, we're excited to give their fans the opportunity to be part of the biggest party in town. Get ready to get McFly'd!”

“It's really exciting to bring the band's 21st celebration to audiences on ITV1 and ITVX and we can't wait for fans to see the show – it's fantastic,” added Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment & Daytime Commissioning at ITV. “We would also like to celebrate the next milestone birthday together!”

I'm sure the band's thousands of fans would love that too – here's to the next 21 years, guys!

McFly the 21st Birthday Party is on ITV1 at 5.30pm