It was a tough situation, but we picked ourselves up as much as possible and waited to find out what was going to happen. We were then called up to Simon’s dressing room, and we knew we were about to find out one way or another whether or not he wanted to carry on working with us. The atmosphere there was incredibly tense and we were all looking at each other really nervously. We wanted more than anything to stay together as a band and tour and record an album, but of course Simon made us wait a bit before he delivered the news.
It was like being back at Judges’ Houses, because he was saying how much he liked us, but not giving us a definite answer. Then he told us that he was signing us and we were in complete shock. I had a feeling it might be good news, but until I actually heard him say the words I couldn’t be sure and didn’t believe it.
We went back downstairs afterwards and we were allowed to tell our families the news, but only them. It had to be kept quiet from everyone else, but needless to say it soon got leaked to the press. The whole night was full of mixed emotions really. And of course we were moving out of the contestants’ house the following morning, which would be another big shift. We’d spent the last few months living in each other’s pockets, so it was going to be very different not sharing a bedroom with the other guys anymore. We were all pleased to have our own space back, but I reckon all of us missed things about sharing the room in a strange way.
We moved into a hotel in West London straight from the contestants’ house and we had the wrap party that evening which was a really good laugh. It was nice to catch up with everyone again and talk back over all the good times we’d had. We had to be up really early the next day for work, so we didn’t go too mad and we were probably among the most well behaved.
The following few days were filled with management meetings and gigs, and while it was weird being away from the X Factor bubble, it was exciting to be experiencing new things. The reception we got in the clubs we went to was amazing, and we felt more like a band than ever because we were out there doing proper shows with a set list of songs. We could have happily carried on doing that for weeks, but then Christmas rolled around and I think we were all in need of a bit of a break after the madness of the recent months.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
Going home to my family for Christmas was really nice. Everything felt so relaxed and I felt closer to my parents than I’ve ever felt before. I could tell they were very proud of me, and I think because I’d been away it made the time we spent together much more special.
I think it was the same with the boys and me. We’d spent so much time together that we kind of needed a break from each other, and that made us all miss each other and appreciate everything we’d achieved. We did text sometimes, but we also gave each other space, so when we met up after Christmas we were so happy to be together again.
It was weird being at home and not having loads of things to do. I was so used to being busy 24 hours a day that sitting watching TV and relaxing felt completely alien. My sister Ruth and I ended up going to the cinema or bowling, because I needed something to do all the time. I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.
Christmas Day itself was lovely, with loads of great presents. I’m usually very cautious with money because of the businessman side of me, but this time I really splashed out—it was the first time I’d really been able to. I ended up buying four iPads, a laptop, a phone for my mom’s birthday and lots of Links of London bracelets. I took the family out for dinner and really treated them, and I loved being able to do that. I also bought my mate some sneakers. Sometimes I’m not clever with money, because if I see something that will make someone happy I just want to buy it, but then there is the business side of me that tells me to be sensible.
My friends and family didn’t treat me any differently because of the show, although I think my parents maybe treated me as more of a grown-up in a way. I think my mom found it a bit hard because I’ve always been the baby of the family and she knew I would be moving away in the new year. She’s got no one to look after now, so she still likes to do my washing and even tries to pack my suitcase. But I do my own ironing.
IT ALL KICKS OFF AGAIN
It was weird to sit back and think about how different my life had become in a few short months. As everyone knows I’m a massive fan of Leona Lewis. I absolutely love her and think she’s so gorgeous. Now she’s added me on Twitter and says she can’t wait to meet me. How crazy is that? Life is moving incredibly fast, and I do want to appreciate everything that’s happening, so sometimes I just have to pause and take stock of things.
Straight after New Year’s we were back to doing some more gigs, and we played at a few private parties. Then we heard we were going to LA for some meetings and to do some recording and we couldn’t believe it. My dad always said to me that if we ever got told we were going to LA he wanted to be the first one to hear about it.
We had gone to have dinner with our manager, Richard Griffiths, at his house. We all left our phones in the car so we’d look professional, but when we sat down to eat and he started talking about us going to LA, my first reaction was to reach for my phone—I wanted to text my dad. I soon realized I didn’t have it, so I was itching to get back to the car to let him know. He was so happy when he heard.
I’d never been to LA before, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was like, and it was so completely different from England. I can understand why all the stars go over there to record music, because it’s the perfect setting with its spectacular buildings and all that sunshine. We met Randy Jackson, who was amazing, and Bryan McFadden came over to say hello. Leona Lewis was going to come and meet us too, but sadly she couldn’t make it.
We stayed in this massive hotel called the W, and we used to get up every morning and hang out by the pool. We were there to work but there was no set schedule, so it ended up being more like a guys’ holiday at times. We went shopping and I bought loads of sneakers. No one bought as much as Louis, though, because he’s got a shopping addiction. Zayn and I nearly made us late for our plane because we’d been taken out shopping and we got stuck in loads of traffic. We ended up rushing and panicking, but we just made it in time.
While we were in LA we went out to dinner with a massive producer called Max Martin and we did some recording with RedOne’s crew. I remember thinking, “Wow, it’s got to this.”
The weirdest thing that happened in LA was finding fans waiting for us at the airport when we arrived, which we weren’t expecting at all. They’d checked us out on YouTube and come along to see us, and they had a big banner and everything.
Our arrival home was the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced. There’s only one way out of Heathrow, and it’s the area where all of the celebs get papped. There was literally a wall of fans, so we had to go out of the main entrance and then slip out of a side door and run with hardly any security. I got hit in the face by mistake in the scuffle and some of the other guys had clothes ripped off.
When the police riot van arrived we had to run from this parking booth we were hiding in and try and get into the back of it, but someone had hold of my hood so I ended up being squashed up against the side of the van. In the end someone grabbed me and threw me into the back of the van. We drove off with lights flashing and siren sounding, so it was all quite dramatic. At that point we hadn’t even released a song yet, so it was the maddest thing.
The best thing about the tour is that we got to see loads of the fans, which I loved. Everyone is always really nice and friendly. Sometimes we get shielded from it, but we would always rather go and meet them. If they’re waiting at a gate at a gig we always want to go out and say hello, but sometimes the people looking after us don’t think it’s safe, so we can’t, which is a shame.
We do have the best fans ever. I know all bands probably think that, but for instance Louis put on Twitter the other day that he wanted some Curiously Cinnamon cereal—and someone brought some to the hotel! It’s amazing. It can be strang
e waking up to people screaming at 7 am, but we love it.
Even most guys are nice to us. I was in a restaurant the other day and these guys came over and they were chatting to me about the band and being really supportive. It’s a shame when people aren’t supportive, because at the end of the day we’re just nice, ordinary guys, and we’ve come from nothing and worked really hard to be here. If they were in this position, they’d feel exactly the same way.
The funny thing about fame is that I don’t think there’s ever a moment where you actually stop and think, “I’m famous now.” There are moments that you have on stage or in the studio that are amazing, but it never really hits home. I remember being on stage in Birmingham and the lights were on the audience and I was looking out at them thinking, “This is my job. I don’t care what it takes, I’m not going to stop doing this.” Equally, when I’m in the studio I’ll find myself standing there smiling at nothing—just because I’m so happy to be there.
We did our tour rehearsals at a place called Light Structures. It was quite challenging as we had to learn dance routines and everything. I’d done some dancing when I was younger, but we were learning so many new things. We were even told to try and walk a little sexily and I think we all found that quite embarrassing at first.
Zayn’s dancing has actually got really good and he dances around all the time now. He’s much more confident. We’re five guys, and guys don’t usually dance that much, so we’ve made sure we don’t take the mickey out of each other when we’re trying new things. We’re willing to give anything a go and I think that’s a good attitude to have in this industry. Also, with five guys together there’s always a little bit of competition—even when we’re just playing Pokemon against each other, which we do a lot. But I think that’s healthy as it means we’re all striving to be the best we can be.
We started off the tour in Birmingham, which was nice as it’s now my home town. The first night was phenomenal and took us completely by surprise. Obviously when we’d done the rehearsals and come out of the elevator—the elevator which brings you up from underneath the stage—there had been no one there watching. Nothing could have prepared us for what faced us on that first night. We were waiting to go on stage and had our earpieces in, so we could hear some screams but not very clearly. We weren’t expecting anything mega, and then we popped out of the elevator and we could see all the banners and One Direction t-shirts and people screaming. When you look out into the audience and someone’s got your name on a banner, it doesn’t really sink in that it’s yours. I don’t know how Harry feels, because the number of girls wearing “I Love Harry Styles” t-shirts is unbelievable. They love him.
We didn’t have any pre-stage rituals as such; we just used to mess around a lot. On The X Factor we used to do a team huddle and talk just before a performance, but this was more laid-back because I think we had a better idea about what we were doing every night.
We shared a room with all the other male performers, and whenever anyone else was with us they’d mess around too. I think that’s the thing with us—we bring out the silly side in everyone. We get away with a lot because the people who are supposed to tell us off are generally having fun with us.
The only time we got told off was when we had a fruit fight a couple of times. Louis is a spur-of-the-moment guy, and one night he started throwing fruit at people, everyone joined in and before I knew it we were all lobbing them at the walls.
We do have proper guys’ humor. A couple of times right before we were going on stage Louis and Zayn would have competitions to see who could give each other the worst dead arm. We’d also play the word game where we were selected to say random words on stage. I had to say Rodney and Del Boy in the middle of a song one night. Someone else had to say combine harvester, and Ian Beale from EastEnders made it into a few tracks. Louis even did roly-polys on stage a couple of times. I think we were getting everything out of our system on that tour.
A habit of mine was to make sure all my clothes were prepared and that I was ready to go on stage at any time. This is because when I used to do gigs a few years ago my dad always drilled into me that I should always be professional. I’ve kept that with me, so even though we had a great time, we did take things seriously.
There were quite a few parties on tour, but I’m a fairly quiet person, so while most people went to the bar after the shows, I used to go to my room to be by myself. I’ve got a lot I want to achieve, so drinking doesn’t interest me. I did go to the bar every so often and chat to everyone, but things were quite manic and we were performing to about 9,000 people a night, so time alone was good. After that level of noise, however, silence becomes an almost scary sound and it’s strange. It’s something you have to get used to. When I’m on my own now I feel a lot more alone than I used to.
When I was living in Wolverhampton there wasn’t a great deal to do, and the only time I ever went out was when my dad and I went to the local pub, the Great Western. It used to bore me sitting there doing nothing, and I’m still like that now. I’m just as happy to go somewhere and have a think, or go to the gym and work out, as be around people in a bar. Working out is really important to me, because it also takes out any stress.
I’ve already been described as the dad of the group, because I’m the one who doesn’t drink. With only one working kidney I have to be careful with things like salt, protein and alcohol, so I guess that’s led to me being seen as the sensible one. I think even when I am old enough to drink I won’t. My plan is to learn to drive, so I can ferry the other guys around and act as security when we go out.
THE FANTASTIC FUTURE
We were all writing songs while we were on the tour, but it was quite hard because I didn’t have a guitar at that time. I got it signed by loads of the X Factor contestants and then I gave it away to a friend, and I hadn’t had a chance to get another one. We were constantly coming up with ideas for songs, because we all wanted to be involved in the process every step of the way. So there will be a massive sense of achievement and it will really be ours. We don’t want to be one of those bands who just sing other people’s words.
We were all really chuffed when we were told we could tell our story in a book, and we had such a good time working on it. It seemed no time at all before we got the call saying that Forever Young had gone to number one in the UK hardback book charts, which was unbelievable. It was only when we went to the signings and saw how many people were there and how many people had bought the book that it all began to seem real. So many fans came along wearing really cool t-shirts and it was a great experience getting to meet so many of them.
I am clearly the clumsiest member of One Direction, though, and I kept doing things wrong. At one signing I drank a bottle of Coke too fast before putting it down on the table and it bubbled over and went all over my clothes. At another one I tripped up as I walked onto the stage in front of everyone. I’m a bit of a hazard.
During the tour I had a persistent problem with my trousers! When we perform “Forever Young” we have to jump around quite a bit, and my trousers kept ripping. One time they ripped really badly—from the belt line all the way down my leg. Another time we were waiting to come on for “My Life Would Suck” and Louis pushed me as a joke, and my trousers ripped all the way down again. I had to sing two songs with them gaping open because the rip was massive. There was no point in trying to disguise it, so I made a joke of it to the audience and everyone had a good giggle.
The wrap party was great—we felt both happy and relieved. Much as we loved the tour, we did around 60 shows, so we were all pleased to be having a bit of a break afterwards. The party took place in a nightclub below a hotel, and I only stayed for a little bit because I wanted to go and chill out. I think Harry and Louis stayed up latest out of all of us. Louis is definitely the biggest partier, but if you get us all in a room together we have a party every day.
I think me and the boys enjoyed the tour more than anyone else who was on it, and later th
is year we’re going to be doing our own tour, which is probably what we’re looking forward to more than anything. It’s going to be more full-on than the X Factor tour, and we’ll be able to come up with loads of ideas and have a lot of input. We’ll also get to see all of the fans and do what we do best.
After the tour finished I took my mom and dad away on holiday to Florida, and they had a great time visiting Universal Studios. Whenever we’d been in the past we didn’t have a lot of money, so we’d have to line up for ages for the rides. This time I decided to spoil us, and I bought VIP passes so we didn’t have to wait longer than five minutes to get on anything. We went out for nice meals and it was great to spend time together. For me it was good to rest my head after the whole X Factor experience.
We’ve enjoyed every minute of the writing and recording for the album. It was nerve-wracking trying to find the first single, because of course we wanted it to be perfect. We worked with some amazing writers and producers and it felt incredible to have these people on our side. For me the most exciting person we’ve worked with so far is a guy called Claude Kelly, who wrote “Grenade” and “My Life Would Suck.” He’s like a hit machine. We all got to do a lot of co-writing on the album, which was really important for us and we loved being involved.
One Direction: Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction Page 4
