As they prepare to release their second album, the world’s hottest boy band tell Jane Gordon about breaking hearts and storming the charts
It's been a big year for
Britain and the British. London 2012 and the Jubilee celebrations
inspired a new feeling of patriotism at home and made us the focus of
attention across the planet. But there is currently another British
phenomenon attracting global attention.
Five
boys aged between 18 and 20 are pushing Britain’s international
standing stratospherically upwards in (and as) One Direction.
Harry Styles, 18, Zayn Malik, 19, Niall Horan, 19, Liam Payne, 19, and Louis Tomlinson, 20 – who all auditioned for The X Factor
in 2010 as solo artists but were thrown together as a band by Simon
Cowell – have (despite coming third in the final) broken recording
history. They are the first UK group to reach number one in the US
charts with their debut album, which means they outdo even the Beatles,
and have a following that currently eclipses that of Justin Bieber.
In
the process of conquering America and much of the rest of the world,
the boys have not only earned an estimated £1 million a week between
them, they have also been great for Britain. Charming, courteous, modest
and hard-working, they are the Team GB of the music industry. ‘The Team
GB of the music industry?’ Liam repeats in bemused tones. ‘No one has
said that before but, hey, that’s a really great thing to hear.’
‘Yes, thank you, that’s really, really nice,’ adds Zayn.
