The last night of the tour is the one that I’d want to go and see, because pretty much everything falls apart. The crew come on and throw things at us when we’re performing, and you can do everything you’ve always wanted to do onstage because it’s the last one. It’s the fun show, and I think if you came and saw it you’d have a laugh. It’s always a longer show too, because we’re doing so much stupid stuff. I’d love to watch one back. It’s probably awful, but great fun!
The world tour is huge for us, so we took our time making sure every single detail of it was right. We came up with ideas for the lighting, the screens and all the things that previously we hadn’t had time to get so involved in. It’s our show at the end of the day, so we want it to reflect who we are. Our ultimate goal was to make a show that we would enjoy watching ourselves.
The tour is going to many different countries and we want everyone to come and have an incredible time with us. We feel so proud of it. I’m loving every second of it. If I could go back and start it all again tomorrow, I would.
We were both nervous and excited about making the 1D movie. There’s so much that we do that people don’t see, so it’s nice to let fans get an insight into who we really are. We put everything out there – nothing was hidden.
We do mess around a lot, so it was great fun making it, and you definitely get to see the ridiculous side of us. Well, the even more ridiculous side.
It was a really natural process and nothing was set up – a lot of the time we forgot the cameras were there. It wasn’t like we decided to go water-skiing or anything just to make the film more interesting. If the cameras missed something, the producers didn’t ask us to set it up again so they could film it, because that wouldn’t have worked. We were just us.
While we’ve been on the road we’ve also been working on the third album, and it’s been really exciting because we’re writing a lot more. We’re experimenting more with this album, which has been great. We want to make the third album our best yet.
We by no means feel like we’re at the top of our game. We always want to push further and be the best we can be. There’s still so much more we can do. I’m excited to see what happens. I want to carry on working hard, playing hard and being kind!
Liam and the Barlow! 22 August 2012
Our lives have changed so much since we all auditioned for The X Factor. I guess the biggest change is how busy we are. I can’t believe I’m in a job where we work such silly hours, especially when I look back at how lazy I used to be!
We do work crazy hours sometimes, but we just get on with it and don’t think about it, because we’re so grateful to be in this position. It’s so rewarding and we really enjoy our work. I do get tired from time to time, and sometimes when I wake up in the morning I can think of nothing nicer than staying in bed all day… But once I’m showered and dressed and with the boys I’m raring to go.
I’m totally used to having jet lag now, and sometimes I even quite enjoy it. If my body clock is a bit off and I wake up in the night, I love the feeling of looking at my watch and knowing that I’ve got loads more time left to sleep.
Twitter time in Dublin. 6 March 2012
Day 2 of the Take Me Home tour. Liam is in the zone… 24 February 2013
Having four other crazy lads around is the best way to stay upbeat when you’re tired. We don’t take anything too seriously and we don’t let anything go to our heads. I never think, “Look at us, we’re on another TV show,” I just think, “This is brilliant fun, I’m having such a laugh with my mates.”
It’s so hard to sit down and try to choose my favorite 1D moments to date, because there have been a ridiculous number of them. If I had to pinpoint some I would say the EMAs, playing at Madison Square Garden and being on the tour bus with the other lads, any time at all, really.
Being onstage at Madison Square Garden was amazing. We got to have a B-stage and pop up out of the floor and all sorts of stuff. It was so much fun and it’s such a prestigious place, so looking out and knowing that everyone was there for us was quite something.
I also love it when we get a couple of weeks off, because it gives us a chance to sit back, look at the craziness of everything that’s happened and really reflect on it.
It’s very strange to look back to the early days and see how far we’ve come.
I still find it incredible when I think about all of the places we’ve been able to visit so far. Australia is one of my favorite places in the world. I loved it and I loved learning to surf with Louis. We also went out on a boat and sailed all around Sydney Harbor and saw the Opera House.
Japan is great too, and I’ve got top memories of San Diego because I caught a tiger shark by accident! We’d been fishing all day and I’d only caught really small fish, so I decided I was a bit rubbish at it. Then I left my rod in for ages and suddenly I saw a tug… When I pulled my line in there was a three-foot baby tiger shark hanging off of it! It was only the second time I’d been fishing and by the end I felt like a pro.
I love trying new things in the different places we visit. Louis has always been very outgoing, but I wasn’t like that at all. Now he convinces me to experiment and it’s made me more confident. It’s brilliant, because it means that I get to learn more about the cultures of the places we go to.
Bungee jumping was invented in New Zealand, so when we were there we really wanted to do it, but we couldn’t for insurance reasons. We found something else called a Sky Fall that was considered safer, so we gave that a go instead. It was still scary, though, and not great for anyone who doesn’t like heights as you literally fly through the air. I like stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying new foods and activities. It’s a whole new world.
Going to Africa for Comic Relief was absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever done. It was a life-changing trip. There hasn’t been one day since we’ve been that I haven’t thought about it; it’s often the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night.
I’ve watched videos that people have done for Comic Relief over the years, but they’re nothing compared to how you feel when you’re actually there. It’s very sad and moving, but it’s also so inspiring to see how incredible the people are in poverty-stricken places. We went to the slums in Ghana and, even though they’ve got nothing, the people are so happy there. If you walk down the street in London everyone seems miserable and they’re always busy looking at their mobile phones, but over there people wave and smile and come and say hello.
We visited a children’s hospital and that was really heartbreaking. I wanted to try to help out, but I had no idea what I could do to make things better for them. It made me wish I had some kind of medical knowledge.
We’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people in general since being in 1D. Meeting Jay-Z was a good moment, and Robbie Williams is always really nice and friendly – we’ve played FIFA with him on a few occasions.
I’ve always been a big fan of Michael Bublé, so it gave me a kick to hear that he happened to get into the same lift as my mom and dad when we were performing at Madison Square Garden. My dad is so funny – he said to him: “I think you might know my son, he’s in One Direction…”! Michael said he loved us and gave his number to my dad. We’ve kept in touch quite a lot since.
He texted me to tell me he was going to be a dad, and his wife said I’m going to be a sexy uncle. She also said that she wished Niall was the dad! It’s so funny, because Michael Bublé was the first person I ever went to see in concert. I was only about 14 and I was about four rows from the stage, so to be speaking to him as a friend now is crazy.
I also text Michael McIntyre a lot – he’s such a funny bloke. I have a habit of texting his own jokes to him after I’ve been watching his DVD, which I really must stop…
We got to meet the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance, and I learned in advance that you call her “Mam” as in “ham” rather than “Ma’am” as in “calm.” Not that I said a single word to her. I
was so nervous. I just bowed my head. We were the first people in the line-up and I wanted to watch and see how everyone else acted so I could copy them, but no chance. When she was talking to us I was too nervous to speak in case I said anything wrong.
A great thing about traveling is that you get to buy some really cool stuff. Louis and I bought robots in Japan, but when I got back to the UK unfortunately I didn’t think about the different voltages, and when I plugged in my robot he blew a fuse, so now he doesn’t work. He’s basically just a statue. We’ve also bought six laser tag guns so we can play when we’re on the road – the extra one is for Paul, our tour manager, because he always joins in with things like that.
I’ve lost count of the number of TV shows we’ve been on now, but one of my favorite ones was Surprise Surprise. We had to pretend to be waxworks and then jump out at some girls. They were so shocked!
Now we’re getting our own waxworks, which is really exciting. I can’t believe that people will be able to go to Madame Tussauds and see us.
1D in Japan. 18 January 2013
I‘ve still got the same friends back home as I did before the band, and that’s really important to me. They treat me the same as they always did. My mate Andy from college moved to London around the same time as I did, so he comes over to my house a lot. Often he’ll bring his friends with him, and we’ll all go out together. We’re quite nerdy and have games nights together, as well as movie nights on Wednesdays if I’m at home. It’s nice to do something really down to earth and normal.
My friends and family have been amazing about everything, generally. Thankfully, they can separate the real me from the stage me, so when I go back home I’m just “Liam,” and they don’t treat me any differently. It’s not like we all sit down together and watch TV programs I’m on or anything. If I ever happen to see myself on TV, I can never quite get my head around the fact that it’s me!
The funny thing is that sometimes, when the guys and I stand in a group, I’ll look around and think someone’s missing, and then I’ll realize that it’s me… I’m so used to seeing five of us in photos.
Friends and family often come to gigs and things, and I got to take my parents to the BRIT Awards, which they both loved. It’s so nice being able to do things like that.
The other day someone asked me how it felt when our second album went to number one in 37 countries, and that’s when it kind of hit me. To think we’ve broken world records is just… ridiculous. I was saying to Louis just recently that it’s so crazy to be the first people ever to do something – we were the first British band to go to number one in America with our first two albums, so we’ve each got a Guinness World Records plaque.
When I used to go to the library as a kid, the Guinness Book of World Records was always the book I’d take home with me. And now we’re in it! The plaque is up in my toilet! I’m not usually one for putting up awards and pictures of myself, because I think it’s a bit weird, but that’s such a special one.
My parents have got quite a few awards on display in their house. Usually when you win an award you get handed a dummy one onstage and you get the real one with your name on it later on. We generally get one each to keep, which is always nice.
Final rehearsal before the VMA show. 6 September 2012
Liam and Niall onstage in Dublin. 5 March 2013
I’ll never forget the first time we went to the BRITs. I don’t really get nervous, but being sat at that table was one of the scariest times I’ve ever had. I had my back to the stage and I kept turning around to see what was going on, but as soon as they announced the nominees for British Single I was staring straight down at the table thinking, “I hope we win this, I hope we win this.” I couldn’t look because I knew what a big deal it would be if we won. When our name was called out my stomach completely flipped over. It was the first time we won something huge. It will always be special.
The VMAs were amazing too. When our name was read out as the winner we all bundled on top of each other, and that’s one of my favorite memories ever. It will always stay with me. I felt really emotional and it was one of those moments where we felt closer to each other than ever.
People have said that, because we’re a boy band, the music doesn’t need to be our number-one priority – but for us it really is. It’s so important that it’s right and that we’re involved in every step of the process – that really matters to us. We would never rely on our image and put out an album that we didn’t all love and feel proud of.
“Last First Kiss,” “One Thing,” “She’s Not Afraid” and “C’mon, C’mon” are probably my favorite tracks at the moment. They’re all quite different, but they all mean a lot to me, and I’m looking forward to writing more tracks in the future.
Wherever we go the fans are always amazing, and they mean everything to us. Knowing that people love what you’re doing, when you’re doing your absolute favorite thing, is a brilliant feeling. We still see the same fans now who we saw right back in the beginning, and it’s incredible that they’ve stayed with us the whole way through.
I keep getting told off on Twitter by fans who’ve asked me to follow them. I’m always happy to do it, but if we get busy and I forget I soon know about it! I have to remind myself to actually sit down and do it. I remember this one girl who was outside the studio for six days. Every day she kept asking me to follow her, then something would distract me and I would forget. I am finally following her now, though. I just need a gentle reminder about things every now and again.
The world tour is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done. As soon as I knew we were going out on our own massive tour I felt like we’d achieved something that we’d always dreamed of. It was one of our goals from the word go, so when we were rehearsing and preparing we were all on such a high.
Everything about it is incredible, from the rehearsals to actually being on the road. We did most of our rehearsals in Leeds and we put in long days making sure everything was spot on. I’m the one who always worries that things will go wrong, so I was really on it in rehearsals. I had one moment when I forgot the words onstage, and that made me so nervous that I really pulled myself up and practiced and practiced and practiced. Luckily everything has run pretty smoothly, apart from a few comedy moments here and there.
While we were rehearsing we stayed in a nice hotel that had a spa, so most nights we’d head down there and have a swim and a sauna to chill out. There was no spending late nights at the bar or anything.
When I’ve been working all day and I go back to the hotel or home, I have to do something just for myself, whether it’s going for a swim or playing PlayStation. I like to have that time to wind down before I go to bed, otherwise I feel like I’ve just worked non-stop.
The tour bus is always a fun place to be. It’s great because you have loads of time to phone home and watch films. You can do all of the things that you sometimes feel you don’t have time for. I love scary films and action films, and FIFA and Call of Duty are my two favorite games to play. I’ve also got a new app on my phone that teaches me a different word every day and how to use it in sentences, so I was using that on the tour bus. The other boys thought it was funny, but I’ve learned a lot from it.
The only downside to being on the road is that we’re often stopping to grab food on the go, so a lot of burgers used to get eaten. But during the Take Me Home tour we’ve all been on health kicks and training, so there’s been a lot less of that going on. Our trainer worked with the British Olympic boxing team and he’s hardcore, so we all eat really well now.
My tour essentials are definitely my phone, my laptop, the right chargers and plug converters, my PlayStation and sometimes a pillow from my bed, because it makes me feel more at home.
On the bus there’s always a lot of tricks and playing around, like food fights and putting ice down each other’s backs. But I like to save most of it for the stage. One of my most annoying habits is jokingly trying to trip people up. I nearly go
t Harry a treat once. I don’t know what I’d do if anyone did actually fall over. I’d feel terrible.
We don’t have any strict pre-gig rituals, but we do huddle together every night and say some words that mean a lot to us… But generally what we say is a bit rude, inappropriate and funny.
Touring is amazing for so many different reasons, and our world tour is like nothing we’ve ever done before. We’ve had a chance to see so many new places. It’s like going traveling as a student, but in a posh way, and with shows in between. You eat strange food, you stay in lovely hotels and you have a laugh with your friends. What could be better?
We all see the world tour as our first proper one. I always wanted to do a really big show, and our set is humungous. There is so much going on at each show and we feel like we are proper pop stars, which I know sounds a bit silly.
After seeing people like Jay-Z and Kanye, who had fireworks and these huge sets, we wanted to do something like that too. We’ve taken eight months off from our lives to do the tour, and then there was the build-up as well, so it had to be amazing. We were involved in every single aspect, from the staging and the set list to the tour program, the merchandise… It’s a very “us” tour, and all of our hard work has paid off, because the feedback we get from people is incredible.
Without a doubt one of the best things about being on tour is getting to see the fans. Any time we can stop and have photos taken and sign autographs, we will. Sometimes, if there are loads and loads of people, it’s not safe to do it, but we will always do our best. I’m sure there are some very dodgy photos of me out there. Even when you’ve just got off a 12-hour flight and you’re not looking your best, there are always people taking your photo, so there must be a lot where my eyes are literally half-closed and I’m walking around in a bit of a daze.
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