people scream at you,” begins Harry, thoughtfully.


While Niall laughs, “I love it. I love the screaming. The [fans] love it too: they’ve all got their tickets and they’ve waited a year to see you, so you’ve got to give it your best.”


The Second Album… In May 2012, the boys began recording their second album – once again, with a host of talented industry songwriters and producers in tow. Many of them had been a part of the creation of the debut record and had returned to work with the group – this included Tom Fletcher from McFly, who was joined by bandmates Dougie Poynter and Danny Jones to work on both lyrics and production.


Multi-BRIT Award-winning songwriter, Ed Sheeran, also contributed his expertise to the record, writing a stripped-back track called Little Things, to allow One Direction to show off their fantastic vocals with just an acoustic guitar for accompaniment.


“Second albums are the hardest,” admits Harry. “We were a bit nervous before we started recording. But we have more experience this time, we had a bit more input and we’ve got better songs.” “It’s more mature,” adds Louis. “We wanted the album to grow with us. We’re


a year older, our music sounds older. I do think it’s a better album.


“Ed is an amazing lyricist and we’re very lucky to work with him. Tom is also a great writer and he writes great melodies. McFly are role models for us.”


The sales spoke for themselves – as the release of Take Me Home was announced in September, pre-orders were once again at a record high with first single, Live While We’re Young, going straight to No.1 in the pre-order chart in a staggering 50 countries. When Take Me Home finally got its much-anticipated unveiling in October, over a million copies of the album were sold worldwide during the first week of release. It has now topped the charts in 37 countries.


This Year Having played their sell-out concert at Madison Square Garden in December, One Direction took a short break over Christmas – coming back in force this February, to be honoured at the BRIT Awards once again with the award for Global Success and a nomination for Best British Group.


“It really is absolutely mind-blowing,” says Louis, smiling humbly. We wouldn’t be here without our amazing fans.”


With yet another great achievement firmly


in hand, the boys began working with tremendous British charity, Comic Relief, who work towards aiding under privileged people across the world. In fact, it was January when the boys had flown to the Ghanaian capital of Accra, where – together with workers and volunteers from Comic Relief – they had visited sick children who are in desperate need of support.


Liam explains, “I’ve watched Red Nose Day appeals before and been in tears. But seeing these babies so sick is another level of sadness. You just don’t realise how hard life can be in other parts of the world.”


On their return, all five members agreed they would record the official 2013 Red Nose Day charity single – the proceeds of which would go to Comic Relief. The single was decided on – it would be One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks), a cover of Blondie’s 1979 hit and rather than making a professional music video to go with the track, the boys bravely created their own film while on the road. This meant the funds that would otherwise have been spent on a video, could be donated to Comic Relief instead.


The song went in at No.1 the UK charts, and reached number 1 on iTunes in 63 countries on week of release - another huge achievement for these five young boys from the UK, who have worked tirelessly to not only make their dreams come true, but now support those less fortunate around the world.


So what does the rest of 2013 hold for One Direction? A world tour, of course! With over 30 million records sold across the globe, the boys are off on tour. Right now, they’re in the middle of visiting everywhere from Liverpool to London to Glasgow. In April, they will take the Take Me Home tour abroad – heading to Europe, North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan – meeting and performing for the fans who have supported them since the X Factor days.


It will be while they’re in the US that Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis celebrate their third anniversary as One Direction - true global superstars.


Then, a new chapter will begin in the One Direction story. And who knows what they will achieve next…


full on! 9


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