There was a block to the left of the stage that was full of friends and family. They’d flown out to New York to see us, and we all had drinks afterwards, which was amazing: the last time we’d all been together was probably at the X Factor final.
When I look at where we are now as a group, it’s almost unbelievable. A lot of my mates are at college now, and that could have been me too… Although, having said that, I wasn’t great at school and I used to skip lessons a lot, so who knows where I would’ve ended up? I feel so grateful for everything that’s happened, and that’s why I’ll never moan if I’m tired or I’m missing my bed.
New York is such a cool place to visit, and I love Australia as well. The people over there have a similar sense of humor to us and they’re always up for a laugh. Japan is also incredible – the people there are so friendly and respectful. Plus the food is amazing.
We’ve loved visiting so many European countries on our Take Me Home tour. It’s great seeing lots of different cultures, because you learn so much. The contrast between, say, Spain and Italy is incredible: they’re such a short flight from each other, but the people are so different.
One of the best things about traveling is trying all the different foods. Italian food tastes so different in Italy to how it does in the UK. It’s what Italian food should taste like!
Sometimes we don’t get a chance to see much of the countries we go to, which is such a shame. When we went to Madrid for the first time we drove straight from the airport to a hotel – we passed a lot of famous landmarks, but we didn’t get a chance to stop. We were in the room for the whole day and flew home again the same night, so we literally only saw the hotel. But on the Take Me Home tour we’ve had a lot more time and get to see tons of places – we take full advantage.
I’m a bit rubbish with shopping when we’re traveling. I did buy a soccer shirt on the way back from our Comic Relief trip to Ghana – being there was so incredible; I wanted to have something to remember it by.
I have honestly never met nicer, friendlier people than I did in Ghana. Making the TV show for Comic Relief was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It was indescribable. About 70,000 people live in a two-mile slum, and it’s one of the saddest things you’ll ever see, but it’s really good to know that people are trying to help them and make a difference. Being a part of that meant the world to us.
Since the day we started out on The X Factor we’ve met a ridiculous number of people. Simon Cowell is still one of the most exciting people I’ve gotten to know, even though he’s so normal when you talk to him. He’s just like anyone else you could meet. He likes the same things he always did – women, cars and music – and he’s a nice fella who’s always up for a good laugh.
Robbie Williams is also a super-nice guy. When we were at the Royal Variety Performance he came over to our dressing room and played FIFA with us, and he invited us over to his house in LA. Michael Bublé is also a really cool guy; he and his wife are so lovely. He wants to do a skit with us on Canadian TV. He sent me a text about it saying: “I think you guys are great. You’re talented and funny and I think Canada would love it.” We’d love to do a song with him. If we ever got to do that I would jump off London Bridge.
Meeting Michelle Obama and the girls was an amazing experience for me because I’m a big Obama fan. The girls just seemed made to be the president’s daughters, and Michelle was so friendly. She even invited us over for dinner some day – I couldn’t believe that. I’d love to go!
Niall onstage in Dublin. 5 March 2013
Realizing that people like Katy Perry and Rihanna know who we are is just crazy. We’ve also been lucky enough to do some incredible TV shows. I think the second time we appeared on the Today show in New York there were about 17,000 people there. The fans stayed outside in the cold for about a week. A few days before we were due to appear I walked past the studio with my hood up. It was late at night – I had jet lag and couldn’t sleep – and there were already a couple of thousand girls there. I would have been in trouble if they’d spotted me, but it was brilliant to see.
It’s always good going back to the UK X Factor too, because we get to see the people we used to work with and we love performing there live. Our performances have changed a lot since we started out, and it’s nice to be able to show how much we’ve changed as performers.
We love it when we get a chance to perform live. In America we perform in these things called “sheds.” They’re like amphitheaters, where about a third of the crowd is covered by the roof and there’s a big lawn area at the back. You can get about 26,000 people into them, and they sell all the tickets on the night. Playing a show for that many people is incredible – especially when it’s somewhere like Dallas and in 90-degree heat. I’d happily play those venues every day!
I would credit friends and family with keeping all of us down to earth. It’s all about knowing who you are. If you went into this business not knowing who you are and not feeling good about yourself, you’d be a mess. I guess maybe that’s why people change when there’s really no need to. The way I see it, why would you want to change to become something you’re not? Or someone other people consider to be a diva?
I’ve heard stories about celebrities being difficult, but then we’ve met the people the stories are about and they’ve been great – so I keep an open mind. It can just be that someone’s met a celebrity who didn’t have the chance to stop and chat to them, so they take an instant dislike to that person, who in reality is very down to earth when you actually meet them – just very busy. We try to stop and speak to our fans at every opportunity we get, but sometimes, if we’re rushing for a flight or whatever, that isn’t possible. But believe us, we always do our best.
We’re still just five normal lads; we’re not divas at all. We’d find it ridiculous if someone in the band suddenly started making demands or acting like an idiot. There’s no way they’d get away with it.
We all stay in touch with our families as much as possible, and I’ll never lose touch with my mates from home. Some of my friends are the same ones I had in primary school, and my mates will come on tour with me or come and stay in London. The guys all have friends on the road and we all know each other’s mates, so we’re like one big group.
When we first started out, the people who are close to me were so excited – they were talking about it all the time, and were really happy that we were doing so well… But there was a time when it was all anyone could talk about. When I went home I told them all in no uncertain terms that I just wanted them to treat me the same way they always had. Once I said to a couple of my mates, “I fancy going out, so as soon as you’ve finished talking about One Direction, let’s go.” I was half-joking, but I wanted to know about their lives and not just talk about the band. They know everything there is to know now, and they would much rather have a good laugh with me and talk about soccer than hear about our latest single!
Something I love about having had some success is being able to treat my friends, but I would hate for anyone to think I was trying to show off. I paid off my mom’s mortgage and bought her a car – things that I knew she needed – but I don’t buy extravagant gifts all the time.
I tried to give some money to my dad, but he wouldn’t take it. He’ll barely take a Christmas present off of me. I want to do up the house he lives in, but at the same time I don’t want to be that idiot who walks in and throws money around.
When I go to the pub with my mates we just buy rounds – the way it should be. I’m not going to be ordering bottles of champagne. It’s just not me.
Rehearsing before the iTunes Festival… 20 September 2012
We released our second album, Take Me Home, in loads of different countries within the space of a few days, and as they rolled on we kept getting told that it had gone to number one in another country, and another, and another. Within about four days it was number one in 37 countries and we couldn’t believe it. It was the second-biggest-selling album in A
merica in 2012, and that’s just unreal.
Our music means everything to us. While we’re happy to say that we can’t dance, we know we can write songs and we can sing, and it’s so important to us that people like what we do.
I think my favorite songs so far are the ones we’ve written and collaborated on. “Back for You” was all about the lads leaving their girlfriends behind when they go on tour. It was letting them know that they’re coming back for them. Louis, Liam and Zayn wrote on “Last First Kiss” and I think it’s the best song on the second album. It’s honest and clean.
Everyone loves the fun, cheesy songs, and I love them too. “Heart Attack” is great to sing along to and great to perform. We believe in our music and I think that comes across when we’re performing. If you didn’t like what you were singing it would be so boring to have to go through the motions onstage and it would be a rubbish show. That’s why we’re so particular.
We’ve loved going to the BRITs the last two years. It’s such a buzz, you get such nice food and you sit with some of the biggest stars in the world. Ed Sheeran told me that in 2011 he was sitting in between Rihanna and Bruno Mars, and he said he was thinking, “I’m just this little ginger bloke; what am I doing here?” I was the same. I couldn’t believe I was in the same room as such big stars.
Performing at the 2013 BRITs was ridiculously good, and it was the same at the VMAs. Some of the most amazing artists ever, like Eminem and Usher, have played at the VMAs. The minute our car pulled up to the red carpet it really hit me how much of a massive deal it is. We were sitting alongside Pink, Ne-Yo, Drake, Lil Wayne – you name them, they were there. Then we ended up with three awards. Every time our name was called out we didn’t know what to do… We were like kids!
Yes, Niall, you are allowed in!
Every single bit of our success is down to our fans. They’ve all been spreading the word since day one. Twitter and Facebook helped to get our name out there, but without the fans telling people about us it would never have happened so quickly.
Our fans are brilliant everywhere. We also notice that, wherever we go, they all dress quite similarly, they’re all amazingly supportive… and they’re all very, very loud.
The power of the One Direction fans is just incredible. The fact that our world tour has sold out is amazing. And we’ve had two number-one albums in America so far – that’s crazy. I’ve got a shelf in the corner of the sitting room in my house that’s full of awards and when I look at it I really have to pinch myself. I need another shelf put up to house them all, and that’s not something I ever expected. When we get plaques saying how many records we’ve sold around the world, it astounds me. It’s all down to our fans – that’s why they are unbelievable.
Simon Cowell says we’ve got the most powerful fans in the world, which we agree with – we still see the same faces now that we did outside when we were filming The X Factor.
We get given a lot of food by fans when we’re traveling, which I love. For example, if we’re in Australia we get a lot of Tim Tam biscuits and tubs of Vegemite. I probably get more than the others – the fans know I like my food! They also make the most amazing books, which are full of pictures and quotes; some of them are about 200 pages long! The work that goes into them is ridiculous.
Niall concentrating before showtime in Antwerp. 1 May 2013
On tour you don’t have to worry about anything except doing a great show each night. There’s a real family vibe and everyone’s having a laugh. We hang out after the show and it’s a good craic.
The set for the tour is unbelievable – we all love it. The crew were saying that they’d never seen a stage that was so complex before. Our stage manager had been working on the tour set for months and months before we got to see it. We all helped with ideas, though, and when we saw it for the first time we were totally blown away.
One of the great things about being on tour is the downtime. Harry was saying the other day that he had been struggling to find time to practice guitar, but he’s getting to do loads on the road. Whenever we’re traveling you’ll see me with a guitar in my hand when I get a spare minute – no matter whose it is, I’ll pick it up. And of course eating passes the time!
We watch a lot of box sets on the tour bus – things like Only Fools and Horses – and gangster movies like Goodfellas and Scarface. We usually get through tons of DVDs and listen to loads of music. I always take my laptop with me so I can Skype people. I got my dad an iPad so we can Skype each other now. It was the one gift he was happy to accept! With my guitar and my laptop I can survive okay for a pretty long time – although I take loads of socks and boxers too!
Traveling is actually one of the most fun aspects of touring. After a show you’re buzzing for about half an hour, and it’s pretty hard to come offstage after performing to 20,000 people and go straight to bed – in fact, it’s almost impossible – so we’ll chill out on the tour bus together and spend some time on PlayStation. If we’re in a hotel we’ll go to the gym.
We get on so well with our security team. They’re always up for a craic and we’ve all got each other’s backs. We play pranks on each other and there’s always something going on. Zayn and I both do a lot of sleeping, though, so we sometimes miss things.
The lie-ins are probably one of the things I love most about touring. Harry gets up at seven to go to the gym, and Louis and Liam are up pretty early too; I am doing some working out but I’m trying to put on weight, not lose it, so I’m drinking a lot of protein shakes to keep my strength up.
We don’t have to be down at the arena until about four in the afternoon and everyone is pretty relaxed. We don’t need loads of security around us either, so we have a craic with our band – generally it’s more laid-back than promotional trips.
If we’re doing promo, no two days are the same and things can be quite crazy. But on the road we have a proper routine, which is nice to get into for a few months. Or in the case of the world tour, eight months!
If we’re due onstage at about half past eight I’ll get myself dressed at about eight and then brush my teeth. Lou, our stylist, usually does our hair just before we go on, and then I spray on some aftershave (even though no one can actually smell me from the audience).
The five of us usually get in a group and say some stupid words to each other right before we go onstage. We have certain things we always say, but in different accents, and we mix it up all the time. We actually get less nervous when it’s one of our own shows than we do if we’re doing a live TV show, where the whole world can see. We do still get a bit anxious – especially when we’re waiting to go on, because we’re so excited about getting up there – but if we do something wrong we can laugh it off and everyone will laugh along with us. It’s a bit different with live TV.
Doing the world tour is the craziest experience I’ve ever had. It is the first time we’ve done arenas, and we’re getting to perform in them across the globe. We love both of our albums, so to be able to showcase songs we haven’t performed in public before is brilliant. We have a lot to remember when it comes to our set and we have lots of surprises – we’re so proud of the ideas we came up with.
We all had ideas and we had a say in every single little thing. Not in a bossy way, we just wanted it to have come from us as much as possible. Things like T-shirts – we didn’t just want them to be run-of-the-mill tour T-shirts, we wanted them to be cool and different. Louis, for example, always imagines what kind of T-shirt his little sisters would want to wear.
I play guitar on five songs on the tour and I love that. It makes it even more exciting for me. It’s also exciting that our shows are never that structured, so every night is different in terms of how we move around and what we say to the crowd. It’s great getting to mix things up a bit.
The third album is coming together really well. The most important thing is that we make music the fans will love. It’s probably a bit more of a “grown-up” sound this time around. It’s a bit more “bandy�
� than “poppy” and says more about what’s going on in our lives now. We’ve all been writing loads, and we’re working so hard to make sure it’s incredible.
The movie came as such a shock when we were asked to do it, but we were over the moon. Seeing ourselves in 3D is crazy, and it was great to make. We started our career with cameras all around us, so we didn’t have to worry much – we’re so used to them. When we were on The X Factor we went to bed and woke up with cameras on us, so we knew what to expect.
We’re always doing stupid stuff and a lot of that got captured in the movie. One time, at a photoshoot, I wrapped a bandage around Liam’s head and stuck a banana in his mouth and everyone was laughing their heads off, and we were a bit gutted that the cameras weren’t there – but we didn’t want to set anything up just for the cameras. We wanted it all to be real.
There was so much other good stuff that was filmed – they got hours and hours of footage. It was interesting to edit because there were things that the camera crew captured that we didn’t even realize they’d seen – we’d be chatting and they’d be in the corner of the room zooming away…
The movie is a proper, full-on insight into who we are. Fans see us on the red carpet at an event, but they don’t get to see us getting ready before we go on. In the movie they get to see all of that.
We feel like the movie has kind of documented everything that’s happened to us so far, and now it’s time for a new chapter. There’s so much to look forward to. We’re having the best time ever. Fingers crossed it lasts forever!
One Direction: Where We Are : Our Band, Our Story: 100% Official Page 4