One Direction: Where We Are: Our Band, Our Story. One Direction

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СКАЧАТЬ If you were staying in New York and you woke up with jet lag at 4am and wanted to see a gig, there would probably be one going on somewhere. No one really eats until 10pm and dinner will go on until 1am. It’s very cool. You can people-watch in New York too, which I really enjoy.

      We’ve met some incredible people on our travels. Michelle Obama was great, and I think she and Barack probably really are just the way they come across in the press – very normal. They’re being themselves, they just happen to have ridiculously high-profile jobs. I think Michelle is an amazing First Lady. Everyone seems to love her, and I think that’s because she’s so warm and kind.

      Personally, when we’ve been travelling I’ve always tried to meet locals and see how they are in their hometown. When we were in Chicago someone from our record label introduced me to a couple of local guys. I played golf with them and it was nice to go out and do something different. Coincidentally, they used to be mates with Barack Obama and play golf with him every Sunday, and they said he’s really down to earth. One of the guys even invited me over to his house for a barbecue, so I went over and met his family. Things like that are really special.

      Going to Ghana for Comic Relief was an unbelievable, life-changing experience. I was so humbled by all of the people we met, and really moved by what we saw. The fact that Comic Relief raised such an incredible amount of money means so much to us, because it will make a huge difference to so many lives. If I was asked to go again, I would in a second.

      I haven’t learnt any languages yet, but I really want to learn sign language. So many people can speak different languages, but if you could make a difference to that one person who can’t communicate it would be amazing. I met a girl and her mum in Ireland once and they both signed, and I signed ‘thank you’ back to them and they couldn’t believe it.

      If someone who was using sign language came to your show or your book signing and you could sign back to them, it would be such a good feeling. I think that’s much nicer than being able to order steak and chips in French. So the plan is to learn much more sign language as soon as I get a chance.

      I’m not a big shopper when we’re travelling, so amazingly I save money when I’m away. Especially when we’re touring. I’ll pick things up here and there, but I can’t get that much in my suitcase! Also, I can’t do online shopping because I’ve got nowhere for it to be delivered to when we’re moving around so much. I tend to pick up little trinkets to remember places by, or gifts for people.

      I’ve never told anyone this before but I did pick up an interesting souvenir in LA once. We were invited to meet Johnny Depp’s daughter, so we went over to his studio. My friend was texting me saying, ‘You have to rob something and bring it back.’ So I’ve got this little pink bar of soap from Johnny Depp’s toilet that I nicked. He’s going to think I’m a freak if he reads this!

      We’ve been on so many TV shows around the world now, but one we did in Japan really stands out because it was the most ridiculous thing ever. There was confetti all over the place and there were tons of crew and it was so fast paced. It was so crazy we didn’t really know what was going on.

      In terms of live shows, playing Madison Square Garden for the first time was a real ‘moment’ for us. The nice thing was that pretty much everyone who’s worked on One Direction as a project was there, from the guy who designed our first album cover to song producers.

      One Direction isn’t just about the band, it’s about all the people who have helped us along the way, and are still helping us now. We’ve worked with a lot of the same people since the beginning, and that means a lot to us.

      Our friends and family also came, so it was nice to have drinks with all of them afterwards. It’s such an exciting venue, and it was amazing to be able to look out from the stage and see so many people we know supporting us.

      The boys light up Madison Square Garden. 4 December 2012

      Happy red nose day! 15 March 2013

      Even though a lot of mad things are going on around us, I honestly don’t think it’s been that hard to stay down to earth. I look around me and I can see how people could get carried away, because if you lived completely in the fame bubble you could end up thinking you’re the greatest thing ever. I almost feel a bit sorry for people whose lives get completely taken over by it, because I can see how it would be hard to stay grounded. But we all live very normal lives outside of the band, so we don’t let things run away with us.

      My family is amazing. They treat me exactly the same way as they always did – and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t. My friends from home are the same. I think you just need to take a step back from it every now and again, remind yourself of what it is you’re involved in as a whole and get it in perspective. It’s a very cool job, but it doesn’t make me any better than anybody else.

      I’m very aware of little things, like saying that people work ‘with’ us rather than ‘for’ us. I hate hearing people say that others work for them – I’m sure they only do it because it makes them feel important. We’re all working hard for the same goal.

      One of my friends takes the mickey out of me if I walk through a door before her. She’ll say, ‘Do you do that because you’re famous? Hold the door open for me!’ I love it when people rib me about things.

      If you’re not very nice to people, word gets around. When someone meets you for the first time, there’s no grey area. They’ll go back to their friends and either say ‘he was really nice’ or ‘he’s a bit of an idiot to be honest’, because saying someone is ‘all right’ isn’t a great story.

      If you act even slightly like a diva, people will pick up on it. If I see someone acting like they’re something special it shocks me into not doing it even more. And I have seen a lot of people do it, both famous and non-famous. I don’t understand why you can’t just be nice to people, whether you’re in the public eye or not.

      I surround myself with people who do all kinds of jobs, and I like going out to all sorts of places that aren’t to do with the industry. Also, my friends will tell me if I’m doing something wrong or if something I’m wearing looks ridiculous, and not everyone has that. Some people only have ‘yes’ people around them, who tell them they’re wonderful all of the time, and they can lose perspective.

      I think it’s nice to give back, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with buying my mum a present if I want to, but I try to buy people things that they need rather than random big gifts. You can end up looking like a massive show-off if you turn up with loads of gifts for Christmas or someone’s birthday, because it looks like you’re trying to trump everyone else’s presents. Plus, if you give things to people all of the time they stop meaning anything. I prefer giving thoughtful presents. Anyone СКАЧАТЬ