One Direction: Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction (15 page)

After the tour we carried on working on the album, and getting to work with world-renowned producers who have worked with some of the best artists in the world was an amazing experience. Going to Sweden was incredible, and of course going to LA again was what we’d been waiting for. We had some
meetings with some big people, and we carried on working on some of the songs we’d started on the first time we were there.

Our aim with the album was to re-create the boy band sound, do something no one else is doing at the moment, and of course enjoy the recording process. We didn’t want to be sitting on stools and singing ballads. We wanted some big songs that would surprise people. The way the co-writing worked was that we would sit around and come up with ideas together. We wanted to be a part of the writing process, because of course you can walk into a studio and record a song, but you may not know what it’s about. It makes a huge difference to be able to sing something that you’ve helped to create. We said from the word go that we wanted to be really involved, and we were very lucky that we got that chance.

Doing the book signings for the
Forever Young
book was unbelievable. So many people came along and it was so loud that I came out with a headache. There wasn’t a single moment where it was quiet. The support the fans showed us was brilliant. I was given seven pairs of large plastic Shamrock glasses.

We love being able to go places and meet fans, and we also like doing press things like photo shoots and interviews. We’ve been on TV shows and all sorts, and the more we do, the more we feel like we’re getting stronger as a band.

THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT

I didn’t realize how many fans we had until we went on the tour. They were literally everywhere we went, and as soon as they found out where we were staying they would be there. Sometimes there were around 600 fans waiting outside for us when we left to go to the venue. When we were in Dublin they had
to close off the whole street, and all the fans were singing “Forever Young” at the tops of their voices outside. It was amazing. Harry was taking video of some of it, and we were equally amazed when we saw those scenes again. I’ve been to see bands like The Script and Westlife in Dublin, but I’d never seen anything like that before.

We have the most unbelievable fans. When we were staying in a hotel in Richmond girls were outside in sleeping bags or booking into rooms on the same floor as us. And every day after school there would be about 400 to 500 fans there. It’s amazing how word spreads about where we are.

I honestly don’t think any of us have changed yet and I don’t think we will. If you ever spend a day with us you’ll see that we’re just normal guys who have a laugh. Obviously our everyday lives have changed, but I honestly can’t see any of us ever getting big-headed or thinking we’re special—there is too much banter between us for that to happen! We do have to be more careful about things like shopping, because even if we just pop out to get something and people recognize us it can go a bit crazy, so we do a lot of internet shopping now.

I’m still in shock about how quickly everything has happened. When we go on a radio show or we get asked for autographs we still have to pinch ourselves. And we’re so excited about what’s to come in the future. We’ve all got big ideas of what we want to do, and even when we were on the tour, and absolutely loving it, we were excited about getting back in the studio to start work on the album. That’s because we were so desperate to get it out there, but we also know it’s important not to rush it and to make sure we get it right. We want number ones! We also really want to go to the BRIT Awards—and hopefully be nominated for one next year.

We’re excited about the documentary because that will show a different side to us again. At first it was funny having cameras around us like we did on
The X
Factor
, but soon we got so used to it that we didn’t even notice them. So who knows what we’re all going to reveal?

It’s the same with the tour. We’ve got massive plans for that too, and we’ll keep coming up with more ideas right up until the last minute. We want it to be the best show the fans have ever seen.

In 2012 I would like to carry on what we’re doing and get bigger, better and stronger. I want to go everywhere and do everything! And we want you to come along with us all the way.

QUICKFIRE

DOB
: 9/13/1993

STAR SIGN
: Virgo

favorite…

FILM
:
Grease
,
The Godfather
and
Goodfellas

BODY PART
: My eyes

FOOD
: Pizza, Nandos

ALBUM
:
Crazy Love
by Michael Bublé

FRIEND
: My friends Sean, Scott, Dillan and Brad

CELEBRITY LADY
: Cheryl Cole

SHOP
: Topman

DRINK
: Water or Coca-Cola

COLOR
: Blue

TV SHOW
:
Two and a Half Men

AFTERSHAVE
: Armani Mania (it’s the oldest of the Armani aftershaves out there, but I think it’s the nicest)

PERFUME
: Chanel Blue, Victoria’s Secret

COMPUTER GAME
: Fifa

IPHONE APP
: Flick Kick Soccer, Sky Mobile

WAY TO SPEND A SUNDAY
: Asleep for as long as possible

DATE VENUE
: Nandos

COUNTRY
: Ireland

RESTAURANT
: Nandos

WAY TO RELAX
: Sitting and playing the guitar

MODE OF TRANSPORT
: Plane

NIGHT OUT
: In Mulingar with my friends having a laugh

BAND
: The Script, The Coronas, The Eagles, The Kooks, The Doors, Thin Lizzy, Take That and Westlife

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR DUVET COVER
? White with a black pattern

WHAT KIND OF UNDERWEAR DO YOU WEAR
? Boxers, Calvin Kleins (I’m wearing Simpsons ones today)

FIRST PET
: Two goldfish called Tom and Jerry that my brother killed by feeding them too much

DO YOU LIKE YOUR OWN COMPANY OR OTHER PEOPLE’S
? I like both. I like being around friends but I also need time to myself sometimes

LAST BOOK YOU READ
:
Forever Young
by One Direction

LAST FIVE THINGS YOU BOUGHT
: A pizza, jeans, water, a pair of sneakers and a Macbook Pro

WHAT TYPE OF GIRLS DO YOU LIKE
? I like someone who can take a bit of banter, have a laugh, and who likes the same things as me—if you go out with me you have to want to come to a soccer match. I support Derby County and I always have. I like the natural look.

EARLY DAYS

I grew up in a really big family with five aunties and two uncles on my dad’s side. They all got married and had kids, so I’ve got loads of cousins. I don’t know the exact figure but it’s definitely in the twenties. They’re all my first cousins as well and we’re close—they’re like my brothers and sisters.

I’ve also got three sisters of my own and I was the only boy. There aren’t many boys among my relatives—probably only about five or six of us in the entire family—so I’ve been brought up with a strong female influence. That definitely had an effect on my personality and I was much more sensitive when I was growing up because I was around women all the time. I also think as a result I understand women more than the average man does, to be honest. I was with my mom and sisters through their ups and downs, so there were times when I needed to just lock myself in my room to escape, and I can still pick up on things like that now.

I’m the second eldest in my family. First there was Doniya, then me, then Waliyha, and ten years after me came my youngest sister, Safaa. Waliyah is like
Megan from the TV show
Drake and Josh
. She’s a very, very clever young girl, and if you ever cross her path, she’ll outwit you.

I like to think I am a nice big brother. I look after my sisters but I am also quite firm and I tell them if they need to go and clean their rooms or whatever, and they listen to me. I think I am pretty good to them too. Whenever I have a bit of money I buy them presents, and I always look out for them.

My earliest ever memory is of going to a fair with my grandma and my mom when I was about three. Everything seemed so big, and I remember the bright lights and the thrill of going on the merry-go-round.

I was a bit of a handful when I was a kid because I was quite hyperactive. If I got the tiniest bit of sugar in me I’d be bouncing off the walls and jumping from one room to the next. Even in the house my mom used to have to put me in my stroller and make me stay there because I was so hyper all the time. I had endless energy. But at the same time I was quite reserved and if things bothered me I’d keep them bottled up. I think being the only boy I wanted to keep myself to myself, and I spent a lot of time on my own in my early years. I had my own bedroom so I’d play by myself. I was very independent and I still am in some ways.

I didn’t go to nursery school because I was pretty close to my dad and he liked having me around, so my first school experience was Reception. The night before I started I didn’t sleep at all and I was really excited about putting on my new school uniform.

All we used to do in Reception was mess around and play with sand. Otherwise all I can remember is the chairs in class being really low and sitting on the carpet for story time.

I LOVED SINGING FROM AN EARLY AGE. HERE I AM, AGE FOUR, WITH A MICROPHONE AND TWO GUITARS, ALREADY DREAMING OF BEING A STAR

I was always really good at English and reading even when I was really little. My reading age was about the same as an 18-year-old’s from the time I was eight. My granddad was constantly making me read things because he was so proud of how good I was.

I ended up sitting my English GCSE a year early and got an A. I wanted to re-sit and get an A+, but they wouldn’t let me. They made me do more math instead, which never made sense to me as I couldn’t stand it. I did art all the way through school too, and I seemed to have some talent. My dad is an amazing artist, so I got that from him, and I still love painting and drawing now. I’m planning to do some new pictures so I can put them up on our website, so keep an eye out.

I didn’t really have many friends at the primary school I first went to, because I was quite into doing my own thing. Then after a couple of years I moved to another school, and while I was there I met a guy called Sam. We got on brilliantly and he was my best friend until I left that school. I was always the kind of person who just had one good friend and I’m still quite like that now. Of course I’m close to all of the boys, but I’ve never been the kind of person who needs loads of people around them.

Even now it takes me a while to get to know people before I can be properly myself. I don’t let a lot of people in. As much as I love meeting people, I like to get to know people properly before I think of them as real friends.

I almost felt like I didn’t fit in when I was in my first two schools because I was the only mixed heritage kid in my class. My granddad Mohammed was born in Pakistan and my dad was born in England. My mom’s dad was Irish and her mom was English, so I’m Irish/English/Asian, which is quite a mix.

My granddad is very fair-skinned with green eyes, and all that side of my family has got very light eyes.

After I’d been at my first upper school for a year my older sister and I moved to a different one because she didn’t like the one we were at. Our new school was a lot more mixed, so I felt like I fitted in much better. Also, all of the girls wanted to know who this new kid was, and that’s when I became cool.

I was about 12 or 13 and I started taking pride in my appearance. I even used to get up half an hour earlier than my sister so I could do my hair. My dad has cut my hair since I was five years old, so he used to help me with my hair as well. When I got a bit older I started doing it myself and got into fashion and girls. I guess that’s when I became the person I am today, at least in terms of appearance and thinking I was cool, even if I wasn’t.

I had a few dodgy haircuts over the years and I shaved my head a few times when I was younger, and also had slits in my eyebrows. I thought I was properly gangsta, being into R&B and rap, and I thought they made me look hard. I also went through a phase where I wore jogger bottoms and hoodies all the time. Again, I thought I looked great, but looking back probably not…

I was really into drama at school and I landed a role in
Grease
in my early teens. I was too short for the lead role, but they made new parts for me and this other guy, Aqib Khan, as the young T-Birds. Aqib is doing really well now—he played the lead part in the film
West Is West
—and I’m so happy for him. We were good friends at school and did a few plays together. I also appeared in
Arabian Nights
and played Bugsy in
Bugsy Malone
, which was a brilliant moment.

I absolutely loved being on stage and becoming somebody else. I found being a character really liberating and I used to get such an adrenaline rush from acting. Singing was kind of secondary for me at that time. I joined the choir because
the music teacher Mrs. Fox asked me to, so I was involved in music, but back then it was all about being on stage playing a character.

POPCORN AND A CAKE—THE PERFECT WAY TO CELEBRATE YOUR FOURTH BIRTHDAY!

ONE OF MY FIRST PHOTO SHOOTS

In my drama class there was a guy called Danny, we got on straight away and he too became a good friend. He was a year or two older than me, so through him I started hanging out with a lot of older kids. I also became friends with his brother Anthony, who is two years younger than me, and I started hanging out with the pair of them and going to the cinema and stuff all the time, and we became a little gang of three. They’re still my two best friends now and we keep in touch all the time.

I was really short for my age up until I went to sixth form. All of a sudden in the summer holidays between school and sixth form I grew absolutely loads. I remember being hungry all of the time and having pains in my legs, and my mom didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I guess they must have been growing pains. It was almost like I went to bed one night and woke up tall. Everyone was really shocked when they saw me after the holidays. Even a lot of the girls had been taller than me, and then all of a sudden I was taller than them, and I think a lot of people felt a bit confused.

I had my first kiss when I was about nine or ten years old. I was so short that I had to get a brick and put it up against a wall so I could stand on it and reach the girl’s face. I remember thinking. “Eww, I just kissed a girl, that was horrible.” It was only a peck, but I was paranoid that people would find out. I thought people would know just from looking at me that I’d kissed someone.

My real interest in girls started when I was about 12 or 13. Girls would come up and ask if I wanted to go out with their friend. I had my first real girlfriend at around 15, and I was with her for about nine months. I’ve only ever had two or three proper girlfriends.

I wouldn’t say I’ve got a specific type when it comes to girls. I’ve become a lot less shallow as I’ve gotten older, and personality is very important to me now. Someone can be the best-looking person in the world, but if they’re boring there’s nothing worse. You have to have something to stimulate you mentally.

ONE GIANT LEAP

The whole
X Factor
experience was a weird one for me. At school I was never one to really put myself out there, but my music teacher suggested that I go for it. I first got the application form when I was 15, but I chickened out and didn’t fill it in. I did the same thing the following year, but when I was 17 and the application form came through I was finally brave enough to fill it in. Even after that, when the day of the audition finally arrived I decided I didn’t want to go! I was lying in bed refusing to get up, and it was my mom who basically told me I had to and made me get dressed and get out the door.

I think I was scared of being rejected, so when I kept getting through to the next stage it was just crazy. I thought they were only putting me through for a joke and that people were laughing at how bad I was.

The
X Factor
experience has been like a whirlwind, and when you’re in the middle of it it’s so hard to process it properly. Everything is going so fast and you’re suddenly standing on red carpets and meeting famous people and singing to millions. When I look back on it now I realize how hard it was. We had very little sleep during the show and we were working nonstop, so I felt like I was having a spell in the army. You don’t watch TV, you don’t know what’s going on in the outside world, and all that matters to you is the competition, so you can feel a bit detached from reality.