One Direction: Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction (12 page)

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to fame. We’ve got more used to situations like going into a hotel and there being people there waiting for us, but surprising things happen all the time and you never really know what to expect—that’s what makes it exciting. The most surprising thing for me is how everyone thinks they know us really well because they watched us grow on the show and become who we are. Also, because people voted for us I think they sometimes think they’ve invested in us, and in a way I guess they have. People always say, “Can we have a picture of you? We voted for you so many times on the show and spent so much money.” But we’re happy to give them a picture whether they voted for us or not!

People always think the paps are really awful too, but everyone’s been pretty good to us and we’ve got quite matey with some of them. We’ll always stop for pictures if we can and if it’s safe to do so. It’s the same with the press. We’re always happy to talk to them, although some funny things have been written about us. One newspaper said that Mary and Wagner were sick of us because we got Cher’s teddies and put them around Wagner when he was asleep on tour.

Apparently we were terrorizing him! But it wasn’t at all true, it was all really lighthearted. We have no idea how the papers get hold of the stories, but some of them are both ridiculous and brilliant.

My hopes for the future? To take over the world. Ideally we want a number one single and album, and I’d like to go to LA again and also get a nomination for a BRIT Award. You’ve got to aim high!

QUICKFIRE

DOB
: 12/24/1991

STAR SIGN
: Capricorn

favorite…

BOOK
: David Beckham’s autobiography—or the half of it I read before my dog chewed it up (actual true story)

FILM
:
Grease

BODY PART
: My mouth, because without it I wouldn’t have a job!

FOOD
: Pasta and pizza, and on the dessert front “Cookie Dough” from Pizza Hut

ALBUM
:
21
by Adele and
How to Save a Life
by The Fray

FRIEND
: Stan

CELEBRITY LADY
: Cheryl Cole or Diana Vickers

SHOP
: Topman

DRINK
: “Daim Bar” milk shake

COLOR
: Red

TV SHOW
:
One Tree Hill
and
Skins

AFTERSHAVE
: I don’t have one. I think if a guy smells really strongly of aftershave it seems like he’s trying too hard

FAVORITE PERFUME
: I don’t have a particular one; I just like a girl to smell good

COMPUTER GAME
: Fifa

IPHONE APP
: Twitter

WAY TO SPEND A SUNDAY
: In bed with some Curiously Cinnamon, then a bacon, fried egg and cheese sandwich with a bit of brown sauce to dip it into. I’d have a game of Fifa, invite Stan around, have a lazy day playing computer games and have a kick around at the park

DATE VENUE
: Cinema (simple but effective)

COUNTRY
: France

RESTAURANT
: Pizza Hut, because of the Cookie Dough dessert

WAY TO RELAX
: Being around friends

MODE OF TRANSPORT
: Car

NIGHT OUT
: A good house party

BAND
: The Fray

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR DUVET COVER
? Cream

WHAT KIND OF UNDERWEAR DO YOU WEAR
? Boxer shorts in all colors

FIRST PET
: A dog called Ted

DO YOU LIKE YOUR OWN COMPANY OR OTHER PEOPLE’S
? The company of others. I’m a big fan of people

LAST BOOK YOU READ
: I’ve only read the David Beckham book my dog ate. I’m not a big reader, whereas he devours them

LAST FIVE THINGS YOU BOUGHT
: I had a spending spree in Topman and bought loads

WHAT TYPE OF GIRLS DO YOU LIKE
? I don’t have a specific look, but I like a girl who is spontaneous and bubbly and has a good sense of humor. And someone who is chatty like me.

SMALL TOWN BOY

I grew up in a small town called Mullingar in the midlands of Ireland with a population of about 35,000 people. I lived on a street in the town center, and then when I was about four I moved to an estate farther out of town. I think my earliest ever memory is probably of going on holiday to New York to visit my auntie when I was about four. I also remember going up and down my street on a toy tractor—there weren’t many other kids my age, so it was mostly me, my brother and his friends. I also remember the time I split my brother’s head open with a table tennis paddle!

My parents split up when I was five and me and my brother went with our mom for a while. Then we lived between their houses for a couple of years. Then finally I ended up moving in with my dad, because he lived in town, so I had more friends there and it was more convenient for school and other stuff. I was always small for my age—and I probably still am—but thankfully I never got bullied at school because I tried to be friendly with everyone. I was always up for having a laugh and messing around, so I got on really well with most of the other kids.

AN IMPROMPTU PERFORMANCE, DRESSED UP AS PO FROM THE TELETUBBIES

I absolutely hated my first day at school. My mom dropped me off and I started crying when she left because I didn’t want to be there. I was only five and none of my friends were at the same school, so I was so scared of being all on my own. I soon settled in, though, and I began to love school. I liked it all the way through, right up until I left—apart from having to do homework, which I hated, and general studying, which I didn’t do much of.

I was into music from a young age. We used to play the recorder at school, so I started that when I was about five or six, and from then on I got really into it. I always used to sing in the Christmas carol service in primary school, and my singing teacher, Mrs. Caulfield, said I should try out for the town choir when I was about eight.

All of my family remember the fact that I was always singing something or other. My auntie used to come over from America every summer and we’d go on holiday to Galway in the west of Ireland. Once when we were driving along I was singing Garth Brooks in the back of the car and she said she thought the radio was on. Exactly the same thing happened to Michael Bublé with his dad. Once he sang “White Christmas” in the back of the car, and that’s how his dad discovered he could sing. He’s my absolute hero so I like the fact that we have a similar story. My auntie said she always knew I’d be famous from then on, and she said it the entire time I was growing up, but I never thought anything of it.

I started playing guitar when I was about 12, and a year later I went in for a school talent show, singing The Script’s “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.” My mate Kieron accompanied me on guitar, and although it wasn’t a competition or anything I got really good coverage in the local paper because they had someone at the show taking photos. That gave me a bit of confidence to do more, so after that I entered a small local competition, again with my mate Kieron, where I sang “With You” by Chris Brown. I won the show, which was amazing, and it made me think that maybe singing was something I was okay at.

MESSING AROUND IN MY GARDEN, AGE SIX

SMARTLY DRESSED AND READY FOR MY UNCLE’S WEDDING

I also supported Lloyd Daniels—who was on
The X Factor
in 2009—in a small music venue called The Academy. I told him I was going in for it too, but he didn’t seem that convinced about it. Later he came to watch one of the live shows and I bumped into him. He remembered me and said, “See, I told you to go for it.” But he actually didn’t!

In the November before I tried out for
The X Factor
I did a local
Stars in Their Eyes
show. I sang “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, which was a very lazy song choice, as Simon Cowell would say, and I had a great time. I did really well and got some good press again, and it was all useful practice for the future.

At school I was rubbish at math but I was good at French. We had a big playing field so I was always playing sports, and that took up a lot of my time. Although I wasn’t necessarily academic I think I was intelligent, but the simple fact is that I spent too much time messing around. I thought school was all about having fun and acting like a fool.

I remember a geography lesson on my first day at secondary school. All my friends had been put in a different class so I felt like I was back at square one and I didn’t know anyone. Then the guy behind me, Nicky, farted and I started laughing, and we became friends. (Ha ha—he’s going to love that shout out!) From then on we were like best friends, and we used to sit at the back of the class singing traditional Irish songs, along with another mate, also called Niall, and the teachers used to be raging with us. We were always doing things to make each other laugh. I never got into serious trouble, though, apart from one time when we bunked off school for the day and I got caught. We all got properly told off for that!

I did okay in terms of grades all the way through school, and my teachers were always saying I had a lot of potential. But I was too busy messing around or playing soccer with my friends to really get down to work. One of my teachers told my mom that I was always in a world of my own when I was in class.

When I was about 11 or 12 I got a V shaved into the back of my head and left it longer on the sides. I was looking at photos when I went home recently and I have to say it looked disgusting on me! I think everyone has those embarrassing photos of mistakes they made when they were young, but some of mine were particularly bad. I would love to see all of the other guys’ dodgy clothes and haircuts.

I was always into pop music when I was really young. I really liked Westlife and I used to go and see them in concert, so to get to meet them at
The X Factor
and have a chat was brilliant. They were such cool guys and exactly how I expected. They were just laid-back and down to earth. Must be an Irish thing!

I never really had girlfriends in the early days at school because I didn’t see the point in being tied down at ten or whatever. I was always shy about that kind of thing in any case. I had my first kiss when I was 11, but I think I’ve blocked it out of my mind because it was so bad. I’m not sure it even counts as a kiss.

I had a girlfriend when I was about 13, but we didn’t stay together for very long, and I’ve not really been out with many people since. I’ve still never had a serious girlfriend, but I would happily go out with someone if the right girl came along.

I’ve only got one sibling and that’s my brother Greg, who’s now 24 and works in a local shop near my home. We hated each other when we were growing up. I think of him in those days as the annoying older brother, and he thinks I was the annoying younger brother. I hated it whenever he even looked at me, and we used to fight all the time, which wasn’t great as he was a lot older and bigger than me.

I used to try and be the big man and hang around with all of his friends, and he hated that. By the time I was about 13 he had left school and got a job. We had both grown up a lot, and that’s when we really started to get along. Now we love each other and we’re friends as well as brothers.

NEW BEGINNINGS

When I applied for
The X Factor
I was a student at St. Mary CBS and I’d just started my leaving certificate. The plan was to go to university and study sound engineering, but obviously that all changed once I got through to the live finals. At that point everything got put on hold, but not surprisingly I don’t mind a bit.

I’d always known I wanted to give
The X Factor
a go—just like anyone else in the country who enjoys singing, I guess. My dream was to be an artist and be really respected for my music. I’ve been compared to Justin Bieber a few times, which I can’t complain about.

It was summertime, we were in London in a hotel with 200 other people, and it was hilarious. And of course the highlight was at the end, with the five of us being put together in the band.

We were really excited, and we all took each other’s numbers before heading home. We had decided that we needed to start practicing together and getting to know each other before we went to Judges’ Houses; otherwise we would have been totally clueless.

We all agreed to meet up at Harry’s stepdad’s place, and we moved into the bungalow in the garden. It was pretty small for five of us, because there was only one bedroom, but it had just been refurbished, so it was lovely, and we slept either on sofas or blow-up mattresses. It was a great bonding time, and for me it’s still one of the best experiences of being in the band so far, because that’s where it all started for us. We used to play soccer in the garden and mess around. We kept telling ourselves that we’d get up the next day at nine and start rehearsing, but instead we’d get up at 12 and start watching TV. But that still worked well, because we had a chance to get used to each other before we started working together properly. In the end it all worked out naturally—we all just got on and instantly became great friends.