After coming out in September 2013 and learning the truth about my so-called parents, we all felt the need to step away from everything for a while. Before starting work on our third album, we decided to take a much-needed month off.
England was growing colder, and we wanted to soak up some sun before throwing ourselves headfirst into recording. Dylan and Damon traveled with their respective model girlfriends, Jordan headed to Ibiza with a few mates, and Rob and I went to the Bahamas. We knew the paparazzi would follow us, and they did. A few beach photos made it into the press, but we didn’t really care. We were careful in public, though I couldn’t be sure we had avoided every compromising shot.
For nearly a month, we focused on nothing but each other. We relaxed, partied, ate incredible food, tried different water sports, slept at odd hours and had sex whenever one of us got a little horny, sucking, jerking or fucking. We just enjoyed having no schedule to follow. We blew some steam off, and loads of jizz! Rob was particularly into having his ass fucked, he seemed to enjoy it even more than he did before and would ask me to fuck him practically every day, which was fine with me. I loved to top him and I knew that part of the reason he loved bottoming so much probably had something to do with it being a specifically gay act. Maybe it made him more comfortable, reminding him who he was.
Our last night was spent at Rock House on Harbour Island. One of the things we loved most about the Bahamas was the privacy. Despite the luxury, there was a refreshing lack of obsession with celebrity culture. People were polite and professional, but never intrusive, and we made a point of staying away from tourist-heavy areas.
“Sir,” the front desk attendant said, “we’ve already taken care of some of your luggage. Here’s your key.”
It still felt strange having hotel staff pack for us without even being asked. I appreciated the service but hadn’t quite grown comfortable with the level of attention. I thanked him and headed toward our room. With only ten rooms in the resort, the place felt wonderfully secluded.
When I unlocked the door and stepped inside, Rob was nowhere in sight and I wondered if he had stepped out to get something, although he had told me he'd be waiting for me in our room while I finished my work out at the gym. He had got tired of it before I had and I wanted to run on the treadmill for at least half an hour.
It was when I walked into the room that I saw light flickering from the bathroom. The door was only slightly ajar, and I could tell that the main lights were turned off. I slowly pushed open the door to reveal tall candles, placed in various parts of the room, casting a warm glow in the darkened space. The shades were drawn, and in the large Jacuzzi tub, filled with bubbles, there he was.
"Hey, enjoying yourself!" I grinned slightly, stepping inside.
"Close the door," he said.
Even in the dim light, his eyes were still bright. I walked over and sat down on the marble platform surrounding the tub,
"Looks pretty cozy in there," I smiled.
"I must confess," he said with a laugh, "I wasn't sure if this was sexy or really embarrassing."
I laughed.
"Trust me." I leaned down and kissed him, "Everything you do is sexy."
He smiled and settled back down into the water.
He reached out of the water and clasped his wet hand around my own. He reached down with his lips and kissed my hands. I must have felt cold from the air conditioning, because I could feel myself getting warmer.
"So, you think there's room for one more in there?" I asked.
He smiled and once again pushed back into the tub. He was well covered by the bubbles, but I could see his shoulders and the top of his chest. I stood up and pulled my t-shirt off in one fluid motion. I could feel Rob's eyes on me, watching every move I made. I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my socks, and lowered my cargo shorts, stepping out of them as they hit the floor. Smiling briefly at him, I hooked my fingers under the waistband of my Calvin Klein underwear, and pulled them down. I admit I slowly exaggerated this last step, letting Rob watch the fabric slowly move down my thighs.
Fully nude, I stood there for a moment, and asked him if he liked what he saw. He nodded, and I stepped into the tub, sitting down on the opposite end that he was. He took my foot in his hands and started to massage it.
"Oh, that feels good," I moaned, closing my eyes and resting my head against the back of the tub.
We talked for a while about having to leave the next day and head back to London.
"Dylan called, he's back already. Said the recording studio should be ready in a few days," he informed me.
We’d had had people working on it while we were away.
“Brilliant! I can’t wait to start recording there,” I replied. I’d written so much new material during the holiday that my mind hadn’t fully been able to switch off from the album.
"He said it looked fuckin' amazing! He's gonna send us a pic later," he smiled.
He began rubbing my other foot, slow and familiar, and after a moment he tilted his head and gestured.
“Come over here.”
I manoeuvred myself around so that my back was lying against his chest. His legs parted to make room for me and I could feel his cock, lying against my backside. It wasn't fully hard, but definitely started moving once I was up against it. It was nice feeling him against me in the water like this. It was sensual, like we were both suddenly made of silk. He wrapped his arms around me, dancing his fingers up and down my abs. I could feel my own cock growing hard underneath the water, but so far Rob wasn't paying any attention to it.
He moved his hands up to my shoulders and started massaging them hard. I was a bit tense from working out and it was almost painful, but it felt so good at the same time. I could feel the muscles relaxing as he continued to rub them, working all the knots out.
I could tell that his cock was now hard against me. It was up against the crack of my ass and traveled up almost to my waist. I turned and smiled at him as he slid his hands back down onto my chest. He traced the outline of my pecs, and briefly moved over my nipples before sending his hands down under the water, grabbing my hard cock.
"You're enjoying this," he laughed.
"So are you." I laughed back, wiggling my back against his own hard member.
He stroked me slowly, not trying to get me off, but to get me excited. Under the water, his hands inspected every part of my cock, every vein, pulled down the foreskin to explore the head. One of his hands cupped my balls and softly started to roll them around, lightly pulling on their sac. I was silent and content for a while, but soon started to make little noises.
I needed to give him some attention. I rolled over so that our chests pressed together. I kissed him deeply, pushing my tongue in as far as it would go. His own tongue wrapped around my own and I felt his hands grab onto my ass, holding me tight against him.
"I love you," he moaned when my lips left his and fastened onto his neck.
"Love you too," I answered, kissing the wet hollow of his throat.
I extended my tongue and traced it down his right shoulder. My cock was hard against his stomach, and I could feel my excitement increasing. I pulled his hands off my ass and raised them above his head. I pushed my face into his armpit, licking and pulling, enjoying the access I had to my beautiful boyfriend. I couldn't help but think of the thousands of people who must fantasize about being with him, touching his sexy body. But he was mine, all mine.
Rob moaned as I moved to his other armpit before sliding my mouth down to his nipples, which hovered just above the water. I took his left nipple into my mouth, biting it, feeling it expand in the warmth of my mouth. I licked across his chest, until I reached his right nipple. I slowly started to back away from him, my tongue sliding down his chest as I lifted his body above the water. I was between his legs, holding his ass, his cock raised out of the water. It was hard and warm from the hot water. He had obviously just shaved because his balls and the area between them and his ass was completely smooth.
I bent over and fastened my lips around the head of his cock, causing him to moan in delight. I went down on it halfway, whipping my tongue all over it. I pulled my mouth of off his stiff prick, and started to wildly lick it up and down, giving special attention to the head, working down the foreskin. Rob floated on his back, watching my every move.
I took a deep breath and deep-throated him. A look of satisfaction must have swept across my face as my nose brushed up against his damp pubes. I noticed Rob's abs crunching as I did this, and after doing it a few more times I pulled my mouth off of him and began an oral assault on his balls. He gave a high-pitched sigh as my mouth found the spot just above his hole, and started lapping at it like a kitten does to milk. I was still holding him up by his ass, and my fingers began to dance around his crack, eliciting further moans from above.
"Roll over," I said, pushing his body back into the water. I saw his green eyes beam at me just before he turned over onto his knees, placing his ass right in front of me. I could see his tight hole, tempting me, hovering just above the water. I reached over to the edge of the tub and picked up a new bar of soap. Dipping it into the water, I slowly brought it up to his hole, and slowly started to slide it up and down his crack.
"Ooooh," he moaned. "That feels nice."
Yeah, he was clearly loving any interaction with his ass, and I was more than happy to provide it. I slid the white bar of soap up and down him a few times, and then, without thinking, I started pushing the end of it up against his hole.
"Uuuuh," he yelped, but made no motion for me to stop.
I didn't know what I was doing, but I was getting excited by the level of trust he had in me. Keeping a tight grip on one end, I pushed the other end of the oval-shaped soap into his ass, watching the lips of his anus clamp around it, trying to push it out. Rob lowered his head to his chest, moaning softly, and I looked at the beautiful triangular shape created between his shoulders and torso.
After a few more strokes, I removed the soap and replaced it with my fingers. I slipped two, then three fingers deep inside him, moving the soap around. I opened him up and touched his prostate, causing him to moan loudly.
His ass felt tight and thick and I slid my fingers in and out letting his asshole relax more and more until I added my thumb as well. He moaned hard, as he enjoyed having his ass stretched out like this. I gently played with his hole some more and when I removed my fingers, I dipped his ass down into the water, rinsing the soap away.
"Damn, I love this shit," he sighed when I brought it back out of the water.
"I'm not done," I told him with a laugh.
"Keep going at it then," he said. "Do what you want. It's yours."
I spread his cheeks apart with my hands and pushed my face into his crack. My tongue found his wrinkled hole and started pushing to get inside.
"Ohhh fuck," Rob groaned, pressing back against me.
His hole was opened by my fingers, making it easy for my tongue to explore him.
After reaching as far as I could, I withdrew and started licking around his hole, feeling its wrinkly ridges, sliding my tongue from top to bottom.
"Ohh, it's so fuckin' good," Rob sighed deeply.
"I love doing this," I panted, going back in for more.
I always enjoyed rimming him, probably because I knew how much he loved it; I actually loved it even more when he was the one rimming me. It's something that both turned us on. I spread his cheeks wider and dove in deeper with my tongue. He moaned again and I saw his hand reaching for his cock.
"Leave it," I said, moving his hand away, wanting him to concentrate on the pleasure I was giving him.
"Ugh, you're driving me nuts," he moaned as he obeyed me.
I was resisting the urge to start fucking him, but I almost couldn't take it anymore. I kept rimming him though, feeling my own cock throb.
After a few more minutes of this, Rob pulled away from me. He grabbed the silicone-based lube he'd prepared and applied some on himself. Then he flipped around, straddling me and causing some water to fly out of the tub.
He manoeuvred himself to trap my cock in the crack of his ass.
"I'm ready for you," he said in a low voice and smiled.
My cock, trapped between his hand and his ass was on fire, ready to explode despite the fact that I hadn't even been touching it. I smiled back, slowly pushed myself into him and he moaned. I could feel his ass gently grab my cock in the water, my previous work and the lube making it easy to slide inside him.
"Oh God," he actually laughed, his mouth opening widely as he threw his head back and started moaning, enjoying getting slowly fucked in the water.
For the most part he kept his eyes closed, but occasionally he would open them and lean down to kiss me or to caress the muscles of my chest and abs. He would grab my hair and pull my head back to nibble at my neck.
Eventually his hand returned to his hard cock, and I started to speed up a little, thinking that maybe he was getting close. The water splashed out of the tub and we laughed because fucking a bit more roughly was maybe not the best idea, as long as we were in this position.
He raised himself off my cock we positioned ourselves so that our cocks pressed up against each other.
We began a slow rocking up and down. He leaned down to passionately kiss my lips as he grasped both of our cocks in one hand and started tugging them together. My hands once again grabbed his ass, pulling him down onto me. Our rhythm quickened and I brought two of my fingers to his hole, working them inside.
"Oh yeah!" he panted. "Do that. Finger my hole."
I did as I was told as we started grinding against each other faster and faster. His grip was tight around our cocks and the sensation was quickly building to a climax.
"Oh God, babe. I'm gonna cum!" I panted.
Rob could only moan as he too, neared the end. I saw his neck muscles tightening as we simultaneously began pumping our loads into the water. We were both moaning wildly. The pressure of his hand, and feeling his cock against my own made my orgasm particularly intense. He bit down gently onto my shoulder as he continued to rock himself against me, waiting for his orgasm to subside.
We were both soon drained of energy, panting, holding onto each other like we were afraid to let go. I held his head against my chest, stroking his damp hair, telling him how beautiful he was. The candles were half melted and we both would have fallen asleep, were it not for our mutual fear of drowning. At this moment everything was as it should be. We were best friends and lovers, enjoying intimacy in a way I believed we could never experience with anyone else.
Ever so slowly we made our way out of the tub. We slipped on the bathrobes provided by the hotel and cuddled together on the bed.
"This was a cool surprise," I said, looking down at his head once again resting on my chest.
"I wish we didn't have to leave tomorrow." he said quietly.
"Me too," I said, suddenly feeling sad. "I'm not sure I'm ready to go back into the real world."
After a while, we got dressed and headed out to dinner. On the way to the restaurant, he suggested that we stopped for a moment on the private beach. The beach was deserted and as the sun was going down, the sky was a mixture of pink, red and orange. It was breathtaking.
I sat down in the sand and leaned back against him as he settled behind me. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. We just watched the sunset, taking in the last moments of this little paradise that had started to feel almost like home after a month there.
He gently caressed my hand with his left hand, and then I felt him slip something onto my finger. I looked down and realized it was a ring - simple and discreet, probably white gold. A man’s wedding band.
I turned slightly to look at him, puzzled but smiling. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then I let out a small chuckle.
“Are you… are you asking me… like…?”
He smiled and chuckled too. “I love the completely freaked-out look on your face right now.”
“Yeah, yeah, I am freaked out,” I said, laughing.
He laughed as well. “Relax. I’m not planning on doing the whole ceremony-in-front-of-the-mayor thing. You know that.”
“Oh, okay,” I said with a relieved sigh. “You fuckin’ scared me.”
“That was the plan,” he said with a grin. Then his expression softened, his voice turning more serious. “But… I’d really like you to wear this.”
He looked straight into my eyes and whispered, “Because I’m yours, and you’re mine, and I want the whole fucking world to know it.”
I smiled, struck by how sincere he sounded.
“Will you wear it?” he asked softly.
“Of course,” I said, putting as much love into my voice as I could.
I placed a soft kiss on his lips and said,
"You're amazing!"
“I don’t know,” he replied. “But if I am, it’s because of you. You make me amazing.”
Still holding my hand, he placed another ring between my fingers, one he must have been hiding in his palm all along. I looked down, smiled, and slid it onto his finger.
We kissed again, with a bit more intensity this time as he held my face in his hands. Then, he pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.
"I love you so fucking much Mark," he told me passionately before planting another soft but intense kiss on my lips and I felt exactly the same wave of lust rush through me as I did the very first time he had told me he loved me.
When he pulled back, he glanced up at the sky.
“The sun’s gone,” he said quietly. “We should go have dinner.”
"Yeah!" I nodded, "Give me a sec though," I chuckled.
"Are you hard?" he asked with a grin.
I nodded,
"Alright… let's just keep watching the sun that is not there anymore!"
I rested my back against him again and he kissed the side of my face a little as he held me tight.
"Not helping!" I exclaimed and we just laughed.
--------
We had a wonderfully romantic dinner and night and then left the Bahamas on the next morning.
Once back in London, we refused all interviews. The only exception was toward the end of the recording process, when we agreed to speak with a couple of music journalists in our studio about the making of the album. Even then, we made it clear that we wouldn’t be answering any questions about our relationship.
We didn’t play any live gigs during that time. Most of our energy went into writing and recording new songs during the week, with weekends usually kept free. Over the course of the year, we also worked with a few charities, recorded a song with Rihanna in New York, collaborated with Bono on another track, and even managed to take another holiday or two. All of this stretched out over roughly a year.
Despite keeping a low public profile, we stayed very active on social media. Every couple of days, we’d share something on the band’s Instagram account: photos of us playing instruments, short studio videos teasing new sounds, bits of album artwork. Most of it revolved around the band, though not all. From time to time, we also posted pictures or short, fun videos of us together in more private moments - on holiday, at Christmas, on our birthdays, or just hanging out. I eventually posted a photo of my “together thru life” tattoo after endless questions in the comments, and Rob did the same after getting a couple of new tattoos himself. That sort of thing.
On the very first day of recording, we posted a selfie on Instagram with the caption, “First day of recording! So excited to start - better get ready!” The photo received an overwhelming number of comments. It was obvious we were still in bed together, but it didn’t reveal much. It was sweet, intimate, and felt very much like ours.
By September 2014, we were putting the final touches on the album, and in November it was released. That’s when promotion began. There was no longer any avoiding journalists or staying out of the spotlight. We were about to do our first television interview since coming out a year earlier.
We didn’t plan on revealing much, and honestly, we weren’t sure how it would go. What we did know was that we liked and trusted the host, and that the interview wouldn’t be shallow or solely focused on the fact that we were gay, something we had always refused to do, even Attitude magazine repeatedly asked. We had considered agreeing to it, especially since they checked in every few months, but we always said we wanted the album to be out first. We wanted to have something to talk about besides our relationship. And, admittedly, we figured it might be best to give people some time to adjust to the news before posing half-naked or kissing each other in a gay magazine photoshoot.
This first interview was going to be televised and filmed in front of a live audience, mostly made up of fans. It would definitely focus on our career, our music, and the new album, and maybe touch on our relationship. We wanted it to feel casual, interesting, and fun to watch. We’d always enjoyed joking around during interviews, and after such a long break, we realized we’d actually missed it.
The host introduced us before we began,
“One minute, you’re just ordinary blokes bashing out songs with a few mates. The next, you’re global superstars - blinded by the glare of celebrity, paparazzi snapping away, the whole world following your every move. That’s got to be strange. But that’s daily life for our first guests tonight, members of a band who’ve brought you countless hits, including these…”
A montage of our music videos played on the screen behind us.
“You’ve been waiting for them - they’re finally here. From U-N-I, please welcome Robbie Myers and Mark Emery. Two of the most recognizable faces in music today. Over 35 million records sold worldwide, countless awards, and a third album - Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall - released just two weeks ago and already number one in more than twenty countries. Sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.”
We watched the clips in silence for a moment.
"It's weird, like, we rarely listen to our music." Rob said.
"You don't like listening to your own music? You've just had enough?" the host asked us jokingly.
"No, we don't listen to our old songs that much," he explained.
"Oh ok. But when you're recording the album, I mean the last one was like, about a twelve months experience, when you're recording it, you have to listen to it."
"Yeah, of course," I said. "We love recording, and we always can't wait to do it again, but when we're finished, I think we kind of need to never see it again, you know." I joked.
Rob laughed, " Except we have to play it every night for another year!"
"Yeah, there is that little problem," I joked, "No, but we still like playing it of course, we love playing it, it's not the same as listening to the album when you're on your couch at home, or singing it in your car, you know."
“He’s just being humble,” Rob added. “You’ll notice that a lot tonight.”
“I actually think it’s healthy not to listen to your own music,” I said. “You don’t really learn anything from it. I’d rather listen to other people’s work, read new things, ‘cause I’m always looking for the next thing to do.”
“Exactly,” Rob said. “We listen very closely to everything else that comes out. There’s no point being on this planet unless you aim super high.” He raised his hand dramatically.
“Super high,” the host repeated. “And you’ve earned that opportunity. U-N-I has been huge for five years now. You disappear from the media for a year, stay mostly active only with fans on social media, and suddenly you’re back with one of the fastest-selling albums in UK history. It feels like you’ve given yourselves the time and space to create something special.”
“I know,” Rob said. “Which is terrifying.”
“The blank page,” the host added.
"Well, it's not though," I answered, "because it's almost like, we've been given a job. I feel like we're at a point where, and this might sound very arrogant, but I feel we're at the point where we've been given the job of being this famous band, and now it's what we do. It's like winning the presidency or something, in my view, so it's not what we've done, it's what we're gonna do with it. You know, we can either get really into… coke and hookers or…"
I looked at Rob, not sure what to say next, so he just agreed with a grin,
"Yeah, we can just do that!" and everybody laughed out loud.
"Aren't you supposed to be gay?" the host asked jokingly.
"Oh right, forgot you knew about that!" Rob joked. "But you see, there are five members in this band and we're not all gay! So god knows what the other three are going to get up to on tour!"
"Well, since you came out, judging by what you shared on social media, you seem to be in a good place, and you look happy, and I assume you are happier than ever before, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah," I said, "we're just happy to be here, you know, and to be in this position. And I think now, instead of getting into drugs and hookers, we can be totally inspired, and try and do… well, we know what we're gonna do, but we can't really say it, because…" I smiled.
"Yes you can," the host insisted jokingly. "no-one will tell anyone, it's ok!"
The audience laughed again.
"You know," I added, "like I said, sometimes it feels like we cheated our way into this position. So now we owe it to people to do something really good. That's how I feel. Obviously we've done some stuff that's good, but we can always be better, and I think our new album is, you know, one notch above."
"Yeah," Rob continued. "you know, we were walking down the street a while ago, and we walked past this group of guys playing basketball, and one of them was like, 'oh my god guys, I love your music', and then another one was like, 'you guys suck’!!'"
"And then…" he continued, laughing a little with the host and the audience, "when we were far enough away to not be a threat anymore, it was like 'your music is terrible!!' "
I added jokingly. "So we’re very aware that we need to improve you know!"
Everybody was laughing out loud at this story so Rob added jokingly,
"Yeah, but before that moment, we weren't so sure! So, I'd like to thank that nine year old guy, whose balls haven't dropped, for ruining my life," he said shaking his head.
"Did you say that to him? The host laughed, "You know, your balls haven't dropped?"
"Yeah, he did!" I confirmed. "It's funny, you know because when somebody insults you to your face about your music, the first thing you wanna do is pick on something about their appearance. It's a terrible thing but you know, what can you do? But it annoys me when you sort of become a real…"
"Asshole?" Rob said finishing my sentence.
"Yeah! Best as all that stuff go over your head, sometimes though we're just not strong enough to do that."
“Yeah. It’s normal,” the host said. “You’re only human. You don’t have to be nice to everyone just because you’re in the biggest band in the world.”
Rob frowned and shook his head. “We’re not One Direction,” he said, grinning.
The audience burst into laughter. At the time, One Direction was being hailed by the media as the biggest band in the world, and everyone immediately caught the reference.
“Ohhh, I thought you were - wait, you’re not?”
“No!” Rob said quickly. “Yeah, everyone does this! They get us confused all the time. They’re like, ‘You’re the biggest band in the world - how’s Harry, how’s everyone?’ No! That’s not us!” he insisted, laughing.
The audience laughed even louder.
"Yeah, you are actually a big supporter of 'One Direction', aren't you?" the host asked.
"Yeah, last time we saw them, I suggested to Harry that we open a barber shop together, called Hairy Styles, but he wouldn't go for it," he said, shaking his head.
“He wouldn’t?”
Rob shook his head again, putting on an exaggeratedly disappointed face. “No. Won’t do it. Doesn’t even call me back.”
"Aw, he's missing out!"
“Yeah,” Rob said. “We like those guys, but… we’re from a different band.”
“Are any of them gay?” the host asked teasingly.
“Hey, we don’t know anything about that,” Rob replied with a grin.
“You haven’t been flirting with them?”
“Well,” Rob said, pretending to think it over, “they are cute. But we’re a bit older than them, aren’t we?” He glanced at me.
“I don’t know,” I said. “How old are they?”
“I think only a couple of years younger than you,” the host said. “But I get why you’d think that, they still look like boys, and you look like men.” He smiled. “So… any chance of a collaboration?”
"Hey, who knows, we can write cheesy love songs too!" Rob joked.
“Well, you have worked with Bono and Rihanna on this new album,” the host said. “That’s a different league altogether. What was that like?”
“It was awesome,” Rob answered. “Especially Bono - but Rihanna too. Very different experiences. We can’t say too much yet, but yeah, it was incredible.”
“How did you approach Rihanna for Princess of China? Did you just call her up and say, ‘Hey, want to work with us?’”
Rob and I looked at each other.
“That’s not really a story we can tell, is it?” he whispered.
I laughed and shook my head.
"Sorry. Yeah, basically, you know for that song, at the top of our list was … Rihanna, and at the bottom of our list was…nobody else. Il was just a song for her! So we plucked up the courage to call her, and so she's on it! Which is great! And it's actually my favourite bit of the album. It's the only bit I can really enjoy listening to, because I'm not on it," he laughed.
"And what about Bono?"
“He actually called us,” Rob said. “He’d already offered to work with us and had this idea that became ‘Up and Up’ on the album. We still can’t quite believe it. Working with him was a dream come true.”
“We learned so much from him,” I added. “He’s been incredible to us. All of them, really -The Edge too.”
“What did they teach you?”
"Just by giving us advice. I always view it as if they're in a class above, like the older boys at school that you admire you know. It's very heartwarming to have their support. And I think if they weren't so friendly to us, we'd be in a lot more trouble and we'd be a lot more depressed about people's opinions about … what is essentially just entertainment that you're trying to produce."
“So how do you deal with criticism?” the host asked.
“Well,” I said, “like those guys playing basketball - everyone’s entitled to their opinion. But critics fascinate me though, because if you don’t like something… you don’t have to listen to it.”
“But you’re clearly aiming for something great,” he said. “Is there a passion in you that critics are missing?”
"No, but we try and take..." I hesitated and stopped talking for a few seconds before saying, "listen, behind closed doors, it's very hard, when you've slaved over something and you love it and you mean it with every inch of your… balls!" everybody laughed and I chuckled, "When somebody says, aw they don't mean that, or it's soulless or it's hollow. But you know that's life, what can you do? You know, it can just fire you up even more."
" Yeah," Rob continued. "We know we're not the Beatles yet, and no one else has to tell us that. But as long as there's some kind of balance. We try not to read anything anymore, we just assume it’s fifty-fifty.”
“Yeah,” I joked. “Fifty percent of people who hate us, and fifty percent who <I>really </I> hate us.”
The audience laughed.
"No but," I continued with a laugh, "as long as there's some kind of balance, and as long as you're selling records and people are still coming to your concerts and having fun, you can't really worry about - what some fat guy who doesn't know what he's talking about thinks - So you just have to keep going!"
"You're getting righteous again," the host teased.
"Yeah I know, it's coming out of us," I joked.
"You know, you seem very, almost defensive about your success."
“Told you he was humble,” Rob said, and I shrugged.
"Are you also proud of what you've done?" he asked me.
“Of course,” I said. “Come to one of our shows - you’ll see it. Talking about it is one thing, but when we’re playing or singing…” I glanced at Rob, “…that’s different. When we’re onstage, I don’t want to be anywhere else. I’m proud of it to the nth degree. This is who we are. We wouldn’t have this life without the music - it means everything to us.”
“You do have an incredible life,” the host said. “What’s the secret? Your audience is so diverse, your albums go straight to number one, your tours sell out in minutes - what is it?”
"We don't know!" Rob laughed. "I think it's because we love what we do! And people can see that, and it's very satisfying to do it. We feel very grateful for what we have, our fans… We don’t take any of it for granted. We know how lucky we are and there are amazing people who work with us and who help us out…"
"It's gotta be down to the music also. There's such a buzz around you and your music because the songs that you're creating obviously touch so many people, I mean, I think you are the biggest band in the world at the moment."
"I don't know about that," Rob said modestly.
“Well,” the host smiled, “if you’re not, you certainly could be. Not that it matters.”
"Yeah no - size doesn't matter!" he joked.
Everybody laughed.
“But seriously,” Rob continued, growing more thoughtful, “we’re just lucky. And if I can go a bit deeper for a moment - when any of us is going through a hard time, it’s the band that picks each other up. We have that brotherhood. That’s something really special to have in your life. So whether or not we become the biggest band in the world doesn’t really matter. As long as we’re still a band, as long as we have each other - that’s what matters to us.”
“That’s great,” the host said. “And you’re about to start a stadium tour. Are you nervous about that?”
“Yeah, of course,” Rob answered, sounding genuinely excited. “But I actually like huge crowds, so I’m not too worried. The bigger, the better.”
“Why’s that?”
"Because it's less intimidating! I just see a sea of people and I'm excited and it's exhilarating. I find it a lot more comfortable in that situation. Much more than if you're playing in a very small venue, when you can see everyone's faces staring."
“And where do ideas for new songs come from?” the host asked. “Surely you must run out eventually.”
“No,” I said. “You just have to live a little. Experience things. There’s always something to feel miserable or happy about if you need to write songs.”
The host laughed. “Did coming out inspire you?”
"A little I guess, yeah. The title of the album and the song 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' is about that in a way, and maybe also, the overall sound of this album is influenced by that change in our lives. I mean, we sort of took another direction and changed our sound a little. It's more up-tempo. Some songs still sound like our first two albums, but others are much more joyful. There's more optimism and hope…"
"Has song writing come easily to you on this last album then?"
"Yeah. It has come easily but it hasn't always necessarily come good though" I said with a laugh.
"So how do you measure the difference between … okay and good ? "
“We usually know by how people react at gigs,” I said. “And sometimes by what people tell us - when someone says a song helped them through something, that really matters. There’s a song on the album, The Scientist, about breaking up with a girl, and we’ve heard a lot of – “
"Is that about you breaking up with a girl?" he interrupted me, knowing I wrote most of the lyrics.
"Well… yeah."
"Oh! you had a girlfriend?"
"Yeah. A long time ago. Before we...," I began saying, then stopped.
“Yeah,” Rob cut in solemnly. “He used to be straight. I turned him gay.”
I shook my head, laughing. “Would you please stop telling people that?”
“Oh come on,” he said, grinning. “Let me have a little fun.”
I rolled my eyes. “And I’m not gay - I just like you a lot.”
“Good one!” Rob laughed, and the audience laughed with him.
“Anyway,” I continued, waving it off, “that song really seems to have touched people. We get a lot of sad-boyfriend stories. Which is sad - but someone’s got to write songs that are good for these situations.”
"So, about coming out - the two of you are in a … committed relationship," he said, pointing at the rings on our finger,"and we all know, it must've been hard to come out, and it must be a bit difficult still, because there's so much scrutiny. And you've been together for over five years, right? And you've managed to stay closeted all that time…"
"Yeah," Rob said quietly.
I shrugged. “We’re very professional.”
Rob laughed. “Incredibly disciplined.”
“Highly trained,” I added playfully. “Years of practice.”
The host smiled. “So… was that difficult?”
“Not really,” Rob answered. “We were friends first. Acting like friends in public wasn’t hard. Though I think fans suspected something - maybe we were a bit too close.”
The audience clapped and whistled.
“I think it’s the way you look at each other,” the host said, and the audience reacted again.
“Yeah,” Rob nodded. “Probably.”
"We should've blinked more," I joked.
“And you’ve known each other your whole lives,” the host continued. “So how did your relationship begin? How did you fall in love?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “How does anyone fall in love? We can’t really talk about that.”
“You can’t?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s private,” I said simply. “And uncomfortable. And we don’t like talking about it.”
“Yeah sorry," Rob said awkwardly, "but that story comes with a disclaimer.”
I laughed, and the host chuckled too.
“Or fireworks,” I added, grinning.
"And a soundtrack," Rob added. “Maybe Beyoncé singing in the background?”
The audience clapped and hooted.
“And possibly confetti,” I added with a wink.
“Definitely confetti,” Rob agreed, nudging me. “Lots of it. Everywhere.”
The host smiled and begged, "well, can we have the version without a disclaimer?”
Rob smiled. "Well, look - I’ve always loved him, for as long as I can remember” he said. “Since we were kids, really. So when he started feeling the same way, being together just became ... natural, like it was always meant to be. And it still does. That’s as much as I’ll say.”
The crowd cheered warmly once more.
“That’s already too much,” I joked.
“Oh come on, give them something,” Rob laughed.
The host smiled,
"Ok, I'm really not trying to drag you into a difficult situation here…"
"No, that's fine." I said.
"But, your private life is in the public eye, and one of the hardest decision you have to make when you're in a closeted relationship, is when you decide to come out! So when you did come out, were you prepared for the fact that so many people were gonna comment on it and talk about your relationship?"
I shrugged. "Honestly, I don't care. I think people's private lives are their own thing, and if people wanna comment on it, that's fine. I don't mind. I love Rob, and I don't give a toss what anyone else thinks you know."
Rob continued,
"Yeah that's something we don't really care about that much anymore. It was scary when we had to take the plunge to come out, but now, we're feeling a lot better about being out. People commenting on other people's lives, you know, it's just part of the times we live in; And that's why we decided to come out on social media, because now, with the internet, you can see exactly what people think!"
He looked at me and I added,
"Yeah, I think that's normal. Young people aren’t always interested in real news, 'cause it's kind of … a downer. And they can't really have that much faith in the world's number one men, I don't think. So, it's just more fun to talk about famous people's relationships, it's just nice you know. We do it all the time," I chuckled,
"So I don't mind people talking about it. I don't want to talk about it myself but I don't have any problem if someone wants to talk about our relationship when they're having their coffee, I don't care, it's fine."
Rob added,
"Yeah, but it's still disturbing that so many people think it's okay to just say whatever they wanna say about our private lives… to our face, like, almost! And it's one thing, when you become a little bit famous or successful, you realize how much bullshit you're being fed, and it's really kind of annoying. I think we came at a time in our lives when it suddenly hit us that, wow, we can't necessarily trust everybody like we thought we could."
The host nodded thoughtfully. “The tabloids didn’t really give you much of a choice, did they? Are you saying you have to be wary of everyone now?”
“I don’t know,” Rob said. “Maybe. We’re definitely more aware that we can’t trust everyone. That probably comes from traveling so much, or just being five years older than we were five years ago. We weren’t ready to face all that back then. We were really young, and dealing with being openly gay at the very beginning of the band would have been hard. But now that we’re older, and our relationship is stronger, it feels like we can share it, and maybe, through our music, help people become a little more tolerant and open-minded.”
“Well,” the host said, “you do have a role to play.”
“I suppose we do,” Rob replied with a small smile.
“Bono once said about your music, ‘A great melody can make even the hardest heart soar.’ Do you think music really has the power to change people?”
"Not some people no," I said, thinking of my ‘father’.
"No?" he asked surprised.
"No." I repeated, shaking my head, "I think some music can accentuate people's personalities, you know? If you're a bastard, there's music that can make you more of a bastard… and if you're sweet, there's music that can make you more sweet."
"Yeah… and if you're romantic, well, then… there's 'One Direction', " Rob joked.
Everybody laughed.
“And U-N-I is for who?” the host asked inquisitively.
Rob and I looked at each other and grinned. I started, trying to come up with something that would flatter our fans while still being fun.
“ U-N-I is for people with great taste,” I said. “Intelligence. Talent. Ability. Success… a real grabbing of life.”
I glanced at Rob and raised my eyebrows slightly, I was clearly running out of ideas. He picked it up immediately as the audience laughed and clapped.
“Yeah,” he said. “ U-N-I is for people who know what life’s about. They’re always entertaining. Delightful to talk to. Incredibly good-looking.”
“Sweet, charming,” I added.
“Incredibly good in bed,” he said with a grin.
I chuckled. “Virile. And they have incredible success with girls… or boys.”
“Or both!” Rob added.
“They’re basically the world’s best citizens,” I concluded, looking at Rob. “Maybe we’re biased, but-”
“But we’re definitely right,” he finished.
I nodded as he smiled at me and briefly placed his hand under my chin before giving me a peck on the lips - something I knew would keep our fans talking for a while.
A few whistles echoed through the crowd.
"And here I thought you were down on yourselves boys, thank you very much," the host joked.
We thanked him in return.
"We'll see you at the O2 arena in February! I think everyone here is very excited about that special date!"
"So are we!" Rob replied.
We were only playing one show at the O2, a 20,000-seat venue, which we hoped would still feel intimate and special for our fans. After that, we’d be heading into a full stadium tour starting in April, including headlining Glastonbury in June, along with several other major festivals.
Now, though, it was time to rehearse.
The fun part was just beginning.
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