"5 Colours in Her Hair" is a song by English pop rock band McFly, released on 29 March 2004 as both their debut single and the lead single from their debut album, Room on the 3rd Floor. Written by Tom Fletcher, James Bourne, Danny Jones and Ben Sargeant, the track is well known for its "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo!" lyrics at both the beginning and the ending of the song, with the music itself being indebted to 1960s surf and beat music, and was inspired by Susan Lee, a character played by actress Emily Corrie in the TV series As If, who wore coloured dreadlocks. The CD and 7-inch formats feature a duet with Busted singing a cover of the Kinks song "Lola".

The track debuted atop the UK Singles Chart on 4 April 2004, becoming the band's first number-one single, and stayed at the top for two weeks. Overall, it spent 12 weeks on the chart and also reached number seven in Ireland. 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 "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, shot in front of a green screen, begins by comically introducing the band members, getting Danny's 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" (played by Molly Portsmouth), who miserably lives 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.

US version

A rerecorded pop punk version of the song, with minor lyrical alterations, appeared on the soundtrack to the 2006 film Just My Luck, which was also McFly's debut album in the US. 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. It would go on to be the default way they would perform the song live.

Track listings

UK CD1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."5 Colours in Her Hair"Tom FletcherJames BourneDanny JonesBen Sargeant2:58
2."Lola" (featuring Busted)Ray Davies4:14
UK CD2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."5 Colours in Her Hair"FletcherBourneJonesSargeant2:58
2."Saturday Nite"FletcherJonesDougie PoynterHarry Judd2:47
3."The Guy Who Turned Her Down"FletcherBourne3:58
4."5 Colours in Her Hair" (video)FletcherBourneJonesSargeant
UK 7-inch picture disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."5 Colours in Her Hair"FletcherBourneJonesSargeant2:58
2."Lola" (featuring Busted)Davies4:14
Japanese CD single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."5 Colours in Her Hair"FletcherBourneJonesSargeant2:58
2."Lola" (featuring Busted)Davies4:14
3."The Guy Who Turned Her Down"FletcherBourne3:58

Charts

Chart (2004)Peak position
Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 5 Ireland (IRMA) 7 Scotland Singles (OCC) 1 UK Singles (OCC) 1 UK Airplay (Music Week) 35Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Singles (OCC) 32
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)5
Ireland (IRMA)7
Scotland Singles (OCC)1
UK Singles (OCC)1
UK Airplay (Music Week)35
Chart (2004)Position
UK Singles (OCC)32

Certifications

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)Silver249,000

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United Kingdom29 March 20047-inch vinylCDIslandUniversal
Japan7 July 2004CD