Remember McFly? Obviously you do. But in case you need a quick refresh, they were the boy band whose posters lined the walls of our teenage bedrooms and even featured in a Hollywood film with Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine pre-Samira from Love Island (it was called Just My Luck and, frankly, we’re still bemused as to how it didn’t get an Oscar nod).

We might not have grown up much since then, but bassist Dougie Poynter has come into his own.

This year he teamed up with Todd Dorigo and Corey Alexander to form new band Ink, who released their debut EP “Heaven” in March. He’s also the creative director for his clothing brand Polonius, a menswear label that pays homage to the romance of rock and roll.

The 30-year-old is even using his platform to raise awareness for causes like cutting plastic consumption. For his next trick we can only hope he brings out a hair product, because those locks don’t tousle themselves and the central line in summer isn’t doing ours any favours.

We sat down with Dougie to talk about Ink’s recent tour, his love of fashion and occasional potty mouth.

Hi Dougie! Your new band Ink recently released your debut EP “Heaven”. What’s the feedback been like?

It’s been interesting. I don’t think anyone was really expecting me to go down that path. Todd’s voice really kind of sets a super different tone to what I’ve done in the past. We just came off a club tour and the reaction was great, sweaty and messy!

How would you characterise its sound?

Other people have called it “post-punk”. It has influences from all over the place.

Has it been exciting forming a new band?

Totally! I love starting new projects from the ground up and just enjoying the ride rather than setting a goal.

We heard Ink went on tour in May – what was it like performing the new EP?

We played for around an hour depending on how much I messed around in between songs. So people only knew four songs. The rest was fun seeing people’s reaction to songs they have never heard before.

You’ve also created your own clothing brand Polonius. Have you always been interested in fashion?

Yeah, even back when I was I kid I was really into the southern Californian punk scene. And then I guess as I got older I started to enjoyed going to fashion shows because it was like seeing someone’s live mood board.

You’ve said that Polonius pays homage to the rock bands of the 60s and 90s – what is it about these musicians that you resonate with?

I love the fact the a group of guys who just play music together for fun can change culture and rock history forever and the whole romance behind that.

Have they also influenced your music?

Of course! I’m into everything from classical to heavy metal. I literally just love music.

In what other ways do your ventures in music and fashion inform each other?

I totally believe that music is the soundtrack to culture and what people are wearing. Especially back in the day when music was more tribal you could tell just from someone’s outfit what bands they liked.

Will you be getting involved with some of the visual aspects of the band, like cover artwork and music videos?

We are 100% involved in everything. It’s a new band so tight budget dude! And we also want to and enjoy that side of it.

We’ve read that you’re also passionate about acting. Do you draw on acting when performing?

I guess when you walk out on stage you do fall into a character. Onstage I’m a hyper active potty mouthed idiot and I would like to think that off stage I’m nothing like that…. Well maybe still an idiot.

You post often on Instagram about the impact of our plastic consumption – is it important for you to use your platform to talk about issues like this?

It comes from a place of anxiety I think. We are all floating on a rock in space with no other place to move to. We are pushing ourselves to another mass extinction similar to the Permian one and things like this don’t get the awareness they need.

Finally, what can we expect from you and the band next? Are you going to any festivals this summer?

We are writing and recording as we speak. So I think we will have new music out by end of summer. Probably another EP then the LP by winter. I want to call the next EP “E.P Phone Home”.