5 Colours in Her Hair

"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".

"5 Colours in Her Hair"
Single by McFly
from the album Room on the 3rd Floor
B-side	"Lola"
Released	29 March 2004 (2004-03-29)
Length	2:58
Label	Island Universal
Songwriter(s)	Tom Fletcher James Bourne Danny Jones Ben Sargeant
Producer(s)	Craig Hardy
McFly singles chronology
"5 Colours in Her Hair" (2004) "Obviously" (2004)
Music video
"5 Colours in Her Hair" on YouTube

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.

Track listings

UK CD1 (MCSTD 40357)^[4]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"5 Colours in Her Hair"	Tom Fletcher James Bourne Danny Jones Ben Sargeant	2:58
2.	"Lola" (featuring Busted)	Ray Davies	4:14

UK CD2 (MCSXD 40357)^[5]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"5 Colours in Her Hair"	Fletcher Bourne Jones Sargeant	2:58
2.	"Saturday Nite"	Fletcher Jones Dougie Poynter Harry Judd	2:47
3.	"The Guy Who Turned Her Down"	Fletcher Bourne	3:58
4.	"5 Colours in Her Hair" (video)	Fletcher Bourne Jones Sargeant

UK 7-inch picture disc (MCS40357)^[6]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"5 Colours in Her Hair"	Fletcher Bourne Jones Sargeant	2:58
2.	"Lola" (featuring Busted)	Davies	4:14

Japanese CD single (UICI-5015)^[7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"5 Colours in Her Hair"	Fletcher Bourne Jones Sargeant	2:58
2.	"Lola" (featuring Busted)	Davies	4:14
3.	"The Guy Who Turned Her Down"	Fletcher Bourne	3:58

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 5 Ireland (IRMA)[9] 7 Scotland (OCC)[10] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[11] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Singles (OCC)[12] 32

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13]	Silver	249,000[14]

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	29 March 2004	7-inch vinyl CD	Island Universal	[15]
Japan	7 July 2004	CD		[16]

References

1. "TV teen drama actress joins Navy". BBC News. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
2. "CBBC Newsround: HOTSEAT. In the hotseat: McFly". BBC. 3 April 2004. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
3. "McBusted Hyde Park". Mcflyofficial.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
4. 5 Colours in Her Hair (UK CD1 liner notes). McFly. Island Records, Universal Records. 2004. MCSTD 40357, 986 626-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
5. 5 Colours in Her Hair (UK CD2 liner notes). McFly. Island Records, Universal Records. 2004. MCSXD 40357, 986 627-0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. 5 Colours in Her Hair (UK 7-inch picture disc sleeve). McFly. Island Records, Universal Records. 2004. MCS40357, 986 627-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. 5 Colours in Her Hair (Japanese CD single liner notes). McFly. Island Records, Universal Records. 2004. UICI-5015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 16. 17 April 2004. p. 57. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – 5 Colours in Her Hair". Irish Singles Chart.
10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
12. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
13. "British single certifications – McFly – 5 Colours in Her Hair". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
14. Copsey, Rob (7 April 2017). "McFly's debut single hit Number 1 13 years ago this week". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
15. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 27 March 2004. p. 39.
16. "2004/7月新譜リリース表" [July 2004 New Release List] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on 6 December 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2023.