POP supergroup McBusted may be working on new material - but when they play the Hydro this week they're sure to deliver the hits to fans.

Thursday will see the band - a supergroup featuring members of both Busted and McFly - play the first of four nights in Glasgow, as part of a mammoth tour that has swollen well beyond its originally planned size. It's that fan demand that has likely spurred on the group's desire to put something fresh down on disc.

"I think people haven't heard the Busted songs for a long time," says James Bourne, formerly of the band.

"But one thing that's for sure is we have 11 No 1 singles between us. We want to play our hits.

"I think what we want to do is have a mainstay part of our setlist, but a part of that might change, so you know you're going to get hits. There will be a certain part of the setlist where you're going to hear different songs."

This ought to have been the year McFly's sixth studio album was released but it's now looking likely that could be shelved in favour of McBusted's first. The sextet are expected to hit the recording studio later in the year.

Of course, the one man missing from the tour and the album sessions is James' former Busted bandmate Charlie Simpson, who is most definitely not involved in this new incarnation of the band.

"The thing about it is that, me and Matt have always had people asking us to do things," says James.

"And we never did them. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't because the three of us own the Busted name. We'd like to have him come back. I just don't think he's ready to do this yet.'

They approached Simpson with a clear backup plan. With McFly involved, using the Busted name was no longer vital. The tour could have happened anyway, under a not-so-snappy banner.

James said: "It could've just been McFly play the Busted hits, you know what I mean?"

Friendships among the six McBusted members are strong, with James and McFly's Tom Fletcher having a particularly long and fruitful history. Bourne contributed heavily to the writing of McFly's first album, and Fletcher to Busted's last.

Everyone gets on well. Me and Tom have always had that writing relationship, but I get on with all the members, we all have our own friendships and there's just no friction."

Since they first toured together a decade ago, their lives have changed rather dramatically. Fletcher's wedding video stole hearts around the world via YouTube last year and, a few weeks ago, he welcomed his first son, Buzz, into the world.

"Marriage and kids are on the cards for a bunch of us. Me and Dougie are the only ones not married. Well, Danny's not married yet but he's getting married," James corrects himself.

"That's what people do when they get older. That's life."

Their personal lives aren't the only thing to have changed. While McFly have enjoyed moderate success throughout Busted's absence, the pop universe has been more of a distant cousin for James and Matt over recent years. James reckons their maturity will serve them well this time around.

"We understand the position we're in a lot more," he explains. "We have a little bit of perspective. First time round, you don't know what to make of it, really.

"I guess we're just as excited as we were the first time, but we're calmer about it, because before we were like puppies and now we're, like, a little bit older."

This summer, McBusted will be playing with two of the biggest boybands in the world. First, they will support One Direction in Paris. A couple of weeks later, the Backstreet Boys will support them in London's Hyde Park.

James adds: "It's a level we never thought was possible to achieve and to have Backstreet Boys be our special guests, we're going to be in great company. It'll be so much fun backstage."

"They were huge when I was like 16. So it's mental, absolutely mental."

l McBusted play The Hydro from Thursday, April 17 for four nights.