Cheers to 14

Cheers to 14 

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be sitting here on One Direction’s 14th anniversary thinking about what I wanted to write about them, I’d have said you were either crazy or deluded. At 40 years old now, I thought that I was over my stanning phase, but in reality it was just paused because I’d never been invested in much, but here I am today, writing an article summing up just what One Direction means to the fans and to me. 

One Direction is and was a global phenomenon and watching how five young boys broke free from the TV Talent Curse to become the biggest act in the world was astonishing and mesmerising to see. The five boys were different from the rest of the boybands in that they didn’t dance (or didn’t dance well) and didn’t have choreographed dance moves. 

They did have five incredibly talented singers, incredibly talented writers and a fantastic rapport between the five of them, but you don’t need me to tell you that. Their songs have a special place in many hearts, but it wasn’t only their talent that caused them to grow as big as they did, it was insane amount of work they put in, fighting battles many fans were unaware of behind the scenes, but still they navigated their fame with humility, good attitudes and a kindness that many acts as big as they were didn’t have. 

To the fans they became part of a global community and they gave many fans a home, a place to be, to exist and to be themselves. They reminded people of the joy of youth, the beauty of friendships and showed fans how to be brave and strong. 

People fell in love with Harry because he was sweet, cheeky and charismatic. He had the cutest smile and was a genuinely nice kid. To this day we still see elements of 16 year old Harry in Harry Styles™ . He’s still kind and funny and showed the world how to be brave and that it doesn’t matter who you are; as long as you are kind to others you can succeed. Harry is also a safe space for a lot of fans, helping to create an atmosphere of openness and love at his shows that can’t be replicated. Harry helps us come out and has given multiple people the freedom and love to be ourselves and we will always be grateful for that. We, as fans, have watched Harry with awe as he’s gone on to achieve incredible things, and now that he’s on a well earned break we only hope he’s enjoying himself and relaxing with his loved ones. 

People fell in love with Niall because he was cute, funny and approachable. Everyone wanted to be Niall’s friend with his gorgeous accent, friendly, fun-loving nature and permanently attached guitar. To this day fans of Niall see him as fun, friendly and approachable.Niall is more loved than I think he realises and we adore his music, his talent and how he interacts with fans. Niall is currently touring his album The Show and it’s incredible how well he’s doing. He’s showing his talent to the world both on his tour and on his run on The Voice. 

People fell in love with Liam because he was the serious one of the band, although that’s not all he was. We watched Liam grow from the boy who seemed to take so much on his shoulders to a more free, fun-loving guy who never missed an opportunity to engage in water fights with Louis. We also love how Liam was the fandom glue; he was the one who engaged most with fans over the years and we all miss him more than we can say. Liam is one of the strongest people I’ve ever seen grow up in the public eye because he battled with alcoholism in the most public way possible and he’s still fighting. He’s strong, resilient and so incredibly loved. Liam is an essential member of One Direction and the band wouldn’t have been the same without him. We love to see Liam smile and watch it light up his whole face and we hope to see him back soon with his wit, smiley, good nature. 

Next, people fell in love with Zayn. Zayn was sweet, shy, funny, talkative and his talent! God -  Zayn’s voice is something else! He was one to watch in interviews and would (at the beginning of 1D) come out with some incredible one liners. He was also the supportive one -  there when one of the other boys was sad, or needed someone in their corner. Zayn stood up for Harry in interviews, saved Harry on stage and was an essential part of One Direction until he left in March 2015. Zayn to me is fearless. He’s brave in a way I’ve never been, because he left for his own mental health reasons and battled an eating disorder while in the band. He’s also fearless because he forges ahead and performed on stage for the first time this year, battling to overcome his anxiety about being on stage which made us all so damn proud of him.

Lastly, people fell in love with Louis. Louis in the early days of One Direction was loud, flamboyant and hilarious to watch. He was the mischief-maker, the funny one and the lead character. Fans watched over the years as some of that early flamboyance and exuberance slipped away and was replaced with a more serious, yet still fun-loving approach. Louis is also an incredibly talented writer and has written the most One Direction songs out of the boys. To me Louis is resilient, strong and brave. The reasons I’ve used those words to describe him is because we saw recently how he was overlooked in One Direction's early years, leading him to forge ahead and become a prolific song writer. He has struggled with confidence yet is now touring the world, performing at festivals and soaring high. He’s overcome personal tragedies and has shown the music industry that if you have fan support you have everything. He’s also so humble and grateful for all he receives and his fans absolutely adore him. 

One Direction isn’t just a band -  they were a cultural movement, a wild ride for five young men and a wake-up call for the music industry because the fans of One Direction never missed a trick and while we adore the band, we also know what went on and will always join the fight to make the industry better and safer, but that’s a fight for another day. 

Today we remember One Direction and wait for the day they announce they are reuniting. Until then we have five incredibly talented boys to support in their solo endeavours and thank the boys for being a safe space, for being saviours and for giving a whole generation of young people idols to be proud of. Thank you for all you do and all you are. It’s been a pleasure to watch you grow, learn and fly and we can’t wait for the next chapters of your stories to unfold.