A preview of the music video to accompany the song, which is scheduled to be released on the same day, shows Tom Fletcher performing the song on stage at last month’s Children In Need event, and concludes with a polariod of him and Buzz embracing. The teaser also includes snippets from the 25-minute animated film, showing Pudsey, the charity’s iconic yellow bear, on different adventures. The animation is also based on a book written by Tom Fletcher, which celebrates 40 years of Pudsey Bear.

The video tells the story of a young boy named Jai who is navigating the grief of his father, so he embarks on a healing journey with Pudsey, and encounters other children connected by a golden thread of kindness. Also featured on the track are the voices of young performers from the inclusive theatre programme The Habbit Factory, who can also be seen in the preview.

Tom Fletcher called the opportunity to write a song for the animation “an honour” by saying, “It’s been amazing seeing Pudsey brought to life in animation for the first time. I wanted to write for animation for ages and so finding myself with the responsibility of another iconic bear… I don’t know why I’ve got all these bears in my life at the minute! It’s Pudsey’s 40th anniversary and to be on Christmas Eve is really special.”

Pudsey Bear, the Children In Need mascot, first came to life in 1985, and was created by BBC graphic designer Joanna Lane.

Tom Fletcher has written multiple children’s books including The Dinosaur That Pooped A Planet! and There’s A Monster In Your Book as well as The Christmasaurus series.

The singer also wrote the music and lyrics for Paddington The Musical, which is based on the book A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond, as well as the 2014 film Paddington. The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant has recently appeared on the BBC dance show and performed alongside the cuddly-looking bear from the musical.

The animation, Pudsey And The Thread Of Hope, will air at 10.20am on Christmas Eve on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

On social media, the band posted a picture which is most likely the cover art for the single, along with the caption, “There’s no going back now… ‘Happiness’ will be the first single from our brand new album ‘Young Dumb Thrills’. Listen to Happiness and pre-order the album from Thursday the 30th July!”

There’s no going back now… ‘Happiness’ will be the first single from our brand new album “Young Dumb Thrills”

Listen to Happiness and pre-order the album from Thursday the 30th July!#GalaxyDefenders get ready!

https://t.co/QEBRk4do5u pic.twitter.com/UyrGaCnC7f

— mcfly (@mcflymusic) July 27, 2020

Despite this official announcement being revealed today, there have been numerous hints in the past week, including a video posted yesterday documenting the creation of the album. The news has excited fans after the band spent a long period of time focussing on their own paths – frontman Tom Fletcher has written numerous children’s books while raising his own children with wife and author Giovanna Fletcher. Both guitarist Danny Jones and drummer Harry Judd also have children, and have worked on various projects, while bassist Dougie Poynter formed new band, INK, on 2018.

We’ve kept you waiting long enough… Check the @mcflymusic socials tomorrow morning for a special announcement pic.twitter.com/p2Eoyl9o8M — mcfly (@mcflymusic) July 26, 2020

After their long hiatus from McFly, the band signed a record deal with BMG at the beginning of July, and spoke to BBC about their reunion and new music. Fletcher told them, “There was a strong possibility McFly would never happen again. We genuinely didn’t know how to get back on track.” But, after many years, the band’s manager Matt Fletcher booked the reunion gig at London’s O2, which took place in November 2019. Since then, McFly has been working together non-stop to release ‘The Lost Songs’ and create ‘Young Dumb Thrills’.

‘Happiness’ is the comeback single for McFly, described by the BBC as “an intoxicatingly upbeat crowd-pleaser” and by the band as having a “festival vibe”. Using a sample of a riff from an unnamed South American artist, the song is revealing itself to be a hit with everyone who hears it.

Tom Fletcher looked back on the journey he and the other McFly members have taken, saying, “We’ve spent our whole adult lives being called Tom McFly or Danny from McFly – and part of you desperately wants to justify that that doesn’t define who you are. But the truth is McFly totally defines who we are. It’s in our DNA.”

This comes seven years after their last single Love Is On The Radio. The album was scrapped so the band could join up with Busted to form the supergroup McBusted, which toured the UK and Ireland in 2015.

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Felt cute, might get dropped later Thanks @bmguk

A post shared by Dougie Poynter (@idougahole) on Jul 2, 2020 at 3:40am PDT

There was a period of time following this tour where we never thought we would seen McFly together again. Tensions formed among the group following side projects the members took on outside of the band. Tom and Dougie worked on a series of children’s books, Harry was on the 10th season of Strictly Come Dancing, which we went on the win and Danny wrote and produced music for other artists such as Rihanna and One Direction.

The band members spoke openly about how they felt jealous and left out when the others would do things outside of the group, saying; “A lot of those things became the unspoken issues.“ Speaking to the BBC about the rough patch the band experienced, drummer Harry Judd said: “We tried to talk it out a couple of times over those years and it just was very unproductive. So, yeah, there were moments where we talked about, ‘Do we need to get in a room with a therapist and document this?'”

The push the band needed to reunite was delivered by their long-time manager, Matt Fletcher. Matt booked the band to play in the O2 London last year, without telling the band. Tom added: “I think having a date in the diary that said ‘McFly at the O2′ just made us all realise we’d been stupid.”  The show sold out in minutes. The band played their classic hits and it inspired them to release their demos for the album they had originally planned to release before joining McBusted. They were called The Lost Songs.

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To everyone who came to the show tonight, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. That was one of the best shows of our entire career. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!!!!! @steviekyle

A post shared by McFly (@mcflymusic) on Nov 20, 2019 at 3:45pm PST

The inspiration didn’t stop there, the band has totally changed the way they make music. The new album began recording at the beginning of 2020, which they decided to compose and write together, rather than waiting for one person to bring the song to the group.

Tom Fletcher, who would have written a lot of songs for the band said to the BBC; “That really puts pressure on you as the writers, to come up with a hit that all your fans will love, but will also reunite you as a band and repair your relationships. We needed to get all of that out of the way first and come at it completely fresh.” Danny added; “It’s the first time I feel like we’ve all been part of it. We were all involved, split down the middle, and it was just such a collaborative, energetic process.”

Posted on 1st May, the five artists picked up instruments and sung together with the goal of uniting and cheering up viewers while they are in lock-down. Mcfly’s very own lead guitarist Danny Jones wrote “Hope this version of the song makes you smile, dance, sing and make staying at home a little easier.”

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#Shinealight for the key workers out there, keeping things going so that we can stay safe. Hope this version of the song makes you smile, dance, sing and make staying at home a little easier #stayhome Big thanks to the boys @niallhoran @ollymurs @tomfletcher @jamesarthur23

A post shared by DANNY JONES (@dannyjonesofficial) on May 1, 2020 at 11:01am PDT

‘Shine a Light’ was originally released by McFly in 2010 with Taio Cruz, and is a big hit with fans. It debuted at number 4 on the UK singles chart and sold over 51,000 copies. In the past, both Horan and Arthur have covered the song, with Horan most recently performing it on his Instagram Live in March.

McFly had planned to go on tour throughout spring and summer 2020, however the dates have been rescheduled due to Covid-19. The UK tour will now go ahead in October and November and, in the meantime, the band have been able to work on projects to entertain and support fans.

McFly recently worked on a cover of their song ‘All About You’, a charity video to raise money for the NHS. The video featured band members Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd along with their families who joined in. All royalties gained from the video will be donated to NHS Charities Together.

Niall Horan has also been involved in numerous projects to support people during this difficult time, running regular livestreams on Instagram, taking part in the ‘Together At Home’ campaign, and appearing in Julia Michaels’ cover video for Doctors Without Borders in America.

Many bands and artists around the world have been forced to cancel, but not all are lucky enough to reschedule. The four members – Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter – posted to let fans know. They said “following the latest government advice we are very sad to announce that we are rescheduling our upcoming April / May UK 2020 tour as the safety and health of our fans is our utmost priority.”

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Following the latest government advice we are very sad to announce that we are rescheduling our upcoming April / May UK 2020 tour as the safety and health of our fans is our utmost priority. ⠀ ⠀ We can’t wait to see you in Oct/Nov, only 6 months away. Until then, keep yourselves safe and look after each other. All our love Tom, Danny, Harry & Dougie.

A post shared by McFly (@mcflymusic) on Mar 26, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

This will be the first time the band has toured together since 2016, having released their ‘Lost Songs’ singles in 2019. The new dates will be later this year, in October and November, and will consist of both new music and hits from their early years. The statement finished by asking fans to stay safe and look after each other. Additionally, McFly were set to be a part of festivals around the UK, of which many have been cancelled. Thankfully, some are still going ahead in the hopes that the Covid-19 pandemic will be under control by later this year.

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Which story will it be?!?! Join me TONIGHT 6:30pm! Live on YOUTUBE & INSTAGRAM

A post shared by TomFletcher (@tomfletcher) on Apr 6, 2020 at 5:25am PDT

While isolating at home, lead singer Tom Fletcher has been working with Puffin to film bed time stories for kids, as well as forming a band with his own children called “Lockdown Projects”. In his own post regarding the postponed tour, Fletcher said “Well, I know you were all expecting this news but it’s now official that we are rescheduling the McFly tour. Obviously, everyone’s safety is our priority, so sit tight and we’ll see you for the best McFly shows ever later in the year.”

Check out the updated show dates below.

18/10/2020 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle, UK
19/10 – First Direct Arena – Leeds, UK
21/10 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool, UK
22/10 – Brighton Centre – Brighton, UK
23/10 – Manchester Arena – Manchester, UK
25/10 – International Centre – Bournemouth, UK
26/10 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham, UK
27/10 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow, UK
29/10 – The SSE Arena Wembley – London, UK
01/11 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham, UK
02/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff, UK