Getting back to the subject of celebrities, we’ve been lucky enough to meet some really cool famous people. I find the more famous someone is, the more grounded they usually are. Perhaps they’ve been around long enough to get used to the pitfalls and have come out the other side. A really great example is Johnny Depp. We’d heard his kids were fans of the band, which was cool. Originally he was going to come down to a show with his family, but he had an injury of some kind and was on crutches, so he said, ‘I can’t make it. So why don’t you come down to my house and meet the kids?’ We were like, ‘Er, OK. Let’s all pile round Johnny Depp’s house. Great!’ So we did, and that was a great experience. I took my mate Olly, and he couldn’t believe it! Parents will do anything for their kids, and I’m glad Johnny Depp did. What a legend!
As a massive footy obsessive I’ve got to mention David Beckham too. He’s the only person that I’d stand in a queue for days to see. People ask about which bands I’d line up to meet, but none come anywhere near Beckham for me. He’s such an icon, and for me, as a kid growing up in Doncaster playing football, I just thought he was incredible. Still do.
Anyway, get this, right. The first time he was around the band no one told me and I missed him altogether! I went bonkers and was proper gutted. There were some crossed wires where various crew members thought someone else had told me he was about, but in the end I completely missed him. I heard he was about so I asked where, and one of the crew said, ‘Oh, sorry, Louis, he’s gone now, mate.’ I was gutted. ‘Are you taking the mick? David Beckham was here and I was just sat in the trailer on the PlayStation?’ Fortunately, we later got invited to the film première for Class of ’92, produced by our friend Ben Winston, and David Beckham was there again. This time I got to meet him and he was lovely. I thought about trying to play it cool, but it’s so hard around someone like that. So in the end I just kept fairly quiet. Fair play to him. He always carries himself with such style, and I hear he’s made a few dollars! I just look at him and can’t do anything but admire how he handles himself. I think he must be wired up differently to me because I wouldn’t be able to be in the public eye for over 20 years.
Back on Planet One Direction we were doing stacks of gigs, promoting ourselves constantly and getting ready to release the second album. I was feeling far more comfortable with my own vocals, as those early problems I’d had on the first album had largely faded away.
This time we’d become more involved in the writing of the album. We did a week in Sweden and were starting to feel a bit more part of the creative process, but again it was only really lyrics at that stage. That was cool. I think the success we’d had so far gave us the confidence to speak up in writing sessions a bit more. On the first album we weren’t ready, but by now there was a growing feeling of wanting to have more input. I’d say, ‘Maybe we can try this lyric like this?’ or ‘How about we change that around and sing it like this?’ Just ideas, suggestions, alternatives really. That said, we didn’t really push it too hard because we did still feel quite inexperienced. We didn’t feel ready yet – and it was definitely the right thing to be cautious. Take it at a steady pace.
Second time round there was a pretty massive change of expectation – the first album obviously had nothing to live up to, whereas now we were following up a record that had quite literally gone around the world. On the first album, people had been saying, ‘This could be Number 1,’ but suddenly that had changed to, ‘So, do you think you will be Number 1 again?’ That’s a very different question, and it has a different impact in terms of pressure and expectations. Fortunately, the speed of our non-stop schedule stopped us procrastinating over the second record, so there was no chance to over-write or over-complicate it. We just concentrated on the songs – they were sounding cool and we were playing them to people who said they were great, but there are only so many opinions you can get. We were like, ‘We just want to get the record out there and see what the fans think.’ Those were the opinions we really needed.
So you can imagine how delighted we were when the new album Take Me Home went straight in at Number 1 in 31 countries. 31! That was a big statement, and we definitely felt the significance of that achievement. I clearly remember going online one day to look at the iTunes charts. ‘Harry! Have you seen the state of these charts?!’ The record was at the top of all these territories – it was just worldwide, Number 1 all over the place. What a buzz!
The month after that ludicrous chart news we did our Madison Square Garden show. What a night that was! Along the way there have been various moments that felt like they were watershed points, like we were writing our own history, creating a series of key events that would always be symbolic of what was going on for One Direction at the time. MSG was like that and, for once, we really did feel its significance at exactly the moment it happened. Before we were booked to do the show I didn’t really know about the iconic status and legend of Madison Square Garden, but in the lead-up to the gig I’d schooled myself a little on that out of respect for the venue and its history. We got there on the day and were walking around looking at all the photos of previous performers. Every one of us was like, ‘This is absolutely mad!’ All the legends had played there. We had a camera crew with us as well, so in many ways it was such a nervy day. But there was also a tangible, overwhelming sense of honour. It was a real privilege to play there.
Talking of privileges, what can I say about our trip to Ghana for Comic Relief? It’s unquestionably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. For starters, flying to a place where no one had any idea who we were was a complete contrast to being recognised wherever we went. Most of the people we met didn’t speak much English, but that didn’t seem to matter. We chatted away and they were just so nice to us.
It was amazing. Once you’ve been out there and seen that world with your own eyes, it’s so hard to come home and get across how much you should look at yourself and think, I need to stop whinging. One thing I noticed was that a lot of the film clips from fund-raising programmes show how terrible things are and how upset people in need can be, which is of course sadly very true and we’ve all got to be aware of that despair. But in their day-to-day life these people are, in many ways, so happy and positive. That was what struck me as the most incredible aspect of that trip: seeing people living in abject poverty, where the stench of faeces was unbelievable, and yet you’ve got all these smiling kids playing football and laughing and enjoying themselves. You’ve got little boys walking round in girls’ T-shirts ’cos it’s all stuff from charities, but they’re laughing and playing. Everybody says hello to everyone else, everyone waves and smiles.
It was an incredible trip. As soon as we got back I said to my girlfriend, ‘I’ve got to take you out there one day because I think it would be such a great experience.’ For anyone, in fact. I was genuinely sad when we left because those people were so cool. They totally blew me away, and their attitude in the face of such poverty was pretty incredible. They have this real sense of community, which, in a way, is all they’ve got.
By sharp contrast, in the same month we started our headline world tour, our longest-ever live jaunt. That was crazy, a huge stint on the road. We knew we were going away for a long time, which was a little bit daunting but so exciting too. We started in the O2, which was crazy – thanks for the easy start, management! – and we also filmed these shows for our forthcoming movie. So it was a really nervy start.
It definitely can get monotonous in the back of a bus or in another hotel room when you’ve just played your 60th show and you’re not even halfway through the tour. Fortunately, we took a few chances to go home, but we didn’t mind being away for so long on such a big tour. This was our opportunity to really get out there and show the world what we could do on stage. Strip it all back, and that’s what rock ’n’ roll is all about – playing live. It’s gotta be done – and we love it!
A typical day for me on the road with One Direction involves getting offstage at about half te
n at night, then hanging out on the tour bus and staying up till about six in the morning, ’cos that’s our only time to relax and socialise. Then I’ll sleep till about two in the afternoon, then try to recharge myself before it all starts again. Usually there’s a ton of promo and interviews to fit in as well. Yes, it’s hard work, but I love being on the bus – it’s my favourite thing. It’s cool, ’cos after a show I’m on such a natural buzz from the adrenalin, so the thought of going back to a hotel room and sitting on my own ... well, I can’t think of anything worse. So we just sit on the bus, watch films, play PlayStation, kick a ball about. It’s great.
Like a few of the other boys, at times I don’t sleep particularly well. In any case, we work so much in the day that I can’t possibly just finish up, lie down and go to sleep straight away. I need to have some social time to switch off and get my head around fun stuff. Being in the band is an all-consuming part of my life, so if I don’t try to make time for other things I’d never do anything else. Luckily, I don’t need a lot of sleep – four or five hours is usually enough. For me, all of this would be impossible to do on my own, and without the lads it would be no fun at all.
As for getting stage fright and nerves when I’m performing in front of these massive crowds, I feel very lucky because I don’t really suffer too much from these. Normally before a show I am like, ‘I can’t wait! Let’s get out there, lads!’ If I know that family or friends are in the audience I can get quite nervous, but in the course of a normal show I usually feel OK. I don’t really like to say I don’t get nervous at all ’cos I think this comes across as a little arrogant, so I’d prefer to say I just really look forward to the performance. For the first five or so gigs of any tour we’re all finding our way around the stage, getting used to the set and the vibe – no amount of rehearsals can prepare you for standing in front of tens of thousands of people – but once we settle into the whole show it’s just the best adrenalin rush, night after night. By then I don’t feel the nerves because the adrenalin takes over. I’m in the zone, and because you know the show inside out by then it’s just a total pleasure. And, of course, with One Direction fans being so loud, so crazy and so supportive, how can we not love being on tour and meeting them every night?
In my opinion, part of the appeal of a One Direction show is that we kinda fly by the seat of our pants. In fact, we’ve always done so, up to a point. Clearly, in the past you’ve had pop shows where the band has to be 100 per cent rehearsed, and dancing that has to be on point and perfect. But with us we mess up, forget the lyrics, laugh it off and hopefully can get away with that kind of stuff. The crowd laugh with us, and that does take the pressure off a little bit.
It was during the Take Me Home tour that much of the footage for our movie This Is Us was shot. What an amazing opportunity for the band to have a movie made like that. The cameras followed us for a long time, but we’re used to all that, to be honest. We started off on a TV show, after all! For the most part the filming for The X Factor tries to keep things relatively natural, so we were allowed to be ourselves around the cameras.
That early experience taught us well. Fast-forward to our second album tour and here we are again, with cameras following pretty much our every waking moment. Don’t get me wrong, there are some days when it’s definitely tiresome having cameras in our faces – occasionally you just want a day when you don’t have to mike up. But that’s just the odd day, and mainly we love it.
We also all felt it was such a great opportunity to document what we’re doing with One Direction in real detail. That might be a selfish way to look at it, but that movie will be a really nice film to look back on in 30 years. It tells our story. To a certain extent it also allowed us a rare chance to look outside of the One Direction bubble, to see the crowds, the fans outside, the gigs. I remember saying to the lads, ‘It feels kinda cool that we actually get to watch our own show for once.’
The movie première was a real laugh too! That was a big deal, and the huge crowd in Leicester Square was amazing. I remember saying to Niall, ‘Mate, this is just the best, can you believe how far this band has come, this is Leicester Square!’ It was a very proud day for us – all our families came, my mum, my little sisters, my girlfriend. Me and Niall messed about in the cinema and kept getting annoyed glances from people, but it was our movie so we were allowed to!
Funnily enough, I found the seven-hour online broadcast for 1D Day more stressful than turning up at that huge film première. It was definitely one of the most stressful days that we’ve had, but it was great at the same time. We’ve never presented anything on live TV before and I can tell you it’s a really hard thing to do, especially for so many hours. You kinda take it for granted when you see people on TV do it, so I’ve nothing but admiration for them now! We had a few technical difficulties, like when me and Niall tried to get through to Doctor Who and it just didn’t work, which was awkward. Also, the autocue kept going off, which meant we had to ad-lib lots of stuff to keep it going. But all in all it was a great day and a big achievement. I think we put on a good show in the end and I really enjoyed it.
By the autumn of 2013 we’d enjoyed so much success it was hard to imagine how our next album could keep up with what had gone before. Well, Midnight Memories charted at the top in 31 countries around the world. I really cannot comprehend that ... I’m crap at geography, so I certainly can’t even name 31 countries off the top of my head. To then think of all those people going out and buying or downloading the record in that first week in all those places is frankly just mind-boggling. Once again I went on iTunes for the charts. ‘Harry, mate, it’s time to look at those charts again ...’ It was ridiculous. It seemed to be Number 1 on virtually every list. That was sick.
With all three of our albums going straight in at Number 1 in the States too, that was another crazy new One Direction record. I actually feel guilty that we’ll never be able to get out and play shows in all of those countries, but we’re so grateful to every single fan who bought that record. Having done so much of the writing on the third album meant that it really mattered to us what people thought about the record. And to have it sell so strongly was a fantastic feeling.
There are obvious benefits to being in a successful band like One Direction. Clearly, we’re lucky enough to be able to buy nice houses and cars and all those sorts of things. What young lad wouldn’t enjoy that part of it?! In the early days there were occasions when it showed me who my real friends were, in the sense that a few people made jealous or nasty comments. Throughout the whole experience I’ve kinda kept about ten proper mates from way back when I was a kid. I guess that’s a pretty healthy number of people to have who I really trust and know have my best interests at heart. The whole One Direction experience has been an amazing one for my family. They’ve never been anything other than incredibly supportive – they constantly champion what I’m doing and have never once faltered in backing me all the way. For that I’m very grateful.
We do need to keep an eye on enjoying our private time because otherwise we’d do nothing else apart from One Direction! At the start of 2014 we had a three-month break, which was fantastic. It was a real chance to finally recharge a little. During those three months most of my time was taken up with football, training at Doncaster Rovers, who for some strange reason signed me on a professional contract! I’ve got a shirt number and everything now: number 28. I trained hard for four weeks and was then asked to play for the reserves in a full-on professional game. On the night of the match I was much, much more nervous than I’ve ever been for a One Direction show. The only thing I can compare that experience to is my first audition for The X Factor. People ask me why I was so nervous – after all I perform in front of thousands of people in the band – but it’s not the same. I’m an amateur footballer, and back then I was an amateur singer and so I absolutely crapped myself! In that game I felt like everyone was looking at me. Let’s face it, there were ten professional footballers out there – and then me. We
drew nil–nil. I did alright, I think.
It’s really exciting for me to be involved in that football club because it feels like the start of One Direction again. I’m really intrigued by the whole football world: sitting in with the gaffer on transfer deadline day in January, really getting a feel for what professional football is like. They’re putting me on the board of directors, so I’ll keep heavily involved and continue supporting the club as much as I can. On one of the screens for the 2014 stadium tour I’m even wearing my Doncaster Rovers shirt – anything I can do to help promote the club! I’m on the back of the programme every week, I’ve a real passion for it and I really look forward to doing more and more with the club.
Away from football I also went on a songwriting trip to LA with Liam, and spent some time with my girlfriend and our dog. Just doing really nice, normal stuff.
When we do get some rare time off, it’s a pretty mad dash to get round to see all my family and friends! We might only have, say, three days off, so I bomb off up to Doncaster and get to see my family, my mum, grandma, sisters and mates. It can be almost as tiring as being on tour! It’s always fantastic to catch up with people in person, though, so whenever possible I try to do that. Balancing your time can be hard in a band that’s as busy as One Direction, but I try my best.
I do notice that even during my time off I think about the band pretty much constantly. I know I’ve said I don’t over-think things and just try to enjoy the moment, but on occasion I know I can be very self-critical. Not to such an extent that it eats me up, but I can criticise myself quite readily. That implies a level of self-analysis, of reflecting on events and how well or badly I’ve done. It’s not often that I get the breathing space to do that in One Direction, but if I do I’ll usually find something that I want to improve on, do better, try differently. I think this is healthy and all part of being ambitious and proud of what I do. I can be a perfectionist – and at times that’s difficult – but I just fall back on that persistence I had as a kid. And just keep grafting, grafting, grafting.
One Direction: Who We Are: Our Official Autobiography Page 15