Music Feature
All They Wanted for Christmas
Tuesday 13 December 2011
My highlight of 2011:
Tom: Doing the Comic Relief single [Gold Forever] was pretty special - especially so early in our career. It was an honour to do it.
Jay: For me, it would be a mixture of all the places we've travelled. I hadn't travelled a lot and now I've seen all these amazing places in the world with my best mates. We filmed the video for Glad You Came in Ibiza and that was amazing.
Max: Glad You Came would be my highlight - the video and everything. Two weeks at No.1 with Glad You Came in England and five weeks at No.1 in Ireland.
Siva: Gold Forever. Every time I hear it I get goose bumps and it reminds me of how much money we raised.
Nathan: Supporting Bieber in Brazil. When we were just about to walk on stage, all the crew came 'round and said, 'You don't have to go on'. There was thunder and lightning - the most horrendous storm. And our guitarist took his phone out when he went on stage and took a picture of lightning framing the stage.
My favourite Christmas memory is:
Jay: One Christmas I spent a lot of time working in Scotland and I got a lot of money from that and bought everyone really awesome presents. I came back about a month late and we had a big fake Christmas and some of my relatives came 'round and we just pretended it was still Christmas! The family got a Wii and my family never bought branded things like that - we got knock off versions!
Tom: When I was 11, I snuck out with my cousin. We were supposed to stay in the house together, but we went to a house party. On the way back someone fired a firework at us and it missed my feet by about [squeezes thumb and forefinger] that much.
Jay: So your best Christmas is a near-death experience?!
Max: It was memorable because it was the only firework show he'd ever seen! He was buzzing! I remember when Nike Air Max came out I got a tracksuit and a cap and the cap just said 'Max' on it. And then we went to Centre Parcs [activity resort] over New Year and I lost my cap and I was gutted!
Siva: My first bike. I went down the road and was almost knocked down by a car and my mam locked the bike up in the shed and never gave it to me again!
Nathan: Last Christmas, I decided to go downstairs to Christmas dinner dressed as an elf but no-one else found it very funny. It was in amongst servings so everyone was busy. I went downstairs and said, 'Ta-dah!' Everyone went, 'Oh, right' and went back to what they were doing!
I'll be spending Christmas:
Max: At home. Christmas Day I'll do the rounds. I'll be at my mum's Christmas Eve. I'll be at my Nana's with my dad on Christmas Day.
Siva: In Barbados. We're off for two-and-a-half weeks!
Max: On the 27th we go to Barbados to do a gig, so that'll be a nice break.
Jay: So I'm going to spend early January burnt to hell. Factor 50 or 100 or something like that.
Nathan: In the pub on Christmas Eve - it's a tradition.
Tom: What?! For you?! This is the first year you're 18!
Nathan: I've always been in the pub but I've never been allowed to drink - having Wotsits and home by half nine!
The one thing that always happens at Christmas is:
Siva: Nieces and nephews waking you up at seven in the morning! You feel crap, but they know it's Christmas, and you're their uncle!
Tom: My mum still puts out half a mince pie and a carrot.
Nathan: I think that's the best bit: your mum not letting you downstairs until everyone is ready to do downstairs.
Tom: Unless she's still downstairs from Christmas Eve!
Max: My mum doesn't let anyone downstairs before her and comes back up and says, 'He's had half his mince pie!' I always end up crying on Christmas Night at about 11 o'clock. I always end up in my Nana's kitchen and it starts off with me having a chat with my dad and he's like, 'What's up with you?' Then I start crying and my Nan comes in and asks 'Are you alright, dear?'And then my granddad comes in - The King! - and he sorts me out!
Jay: I like watching my nieces opening their presents. I'm excited to see them marauding everywhere.
My favourite Christmas song is:
Max: The Pogues, Fairytale of New York.
Tom: Slade, Merry Xmas Everybody.
Nathan: White Christmas.
Siva: Mr Blobby!
Jay: O Holy Night.
Max: Michelle McManus sang that amazingly on Pop Idol.
My New Year's Resolution is:
Max: Never mention Pop Idol ever again! My resolution would be to spend more time at home, but then we wouldn't have the work that we do, so...
Nathan: Balance your time better!
Max: Well I try to balance it as much as I can, don't I?! I don't know how I can really balance it better than I do!
Siva: I'm going to say sleep more!
Nathan: Stop making people feel socially awkward. Stop being socially awkward by saying needless and inappropriate things which make other people feel awkward.
Siva: You're being awkward again, Nathan!
[Tom and Jay couldn't get a word in edgeways]
My highlight for 2012:
Siva: Playing Croke Park. 82,000 Irish fans!
Max: The tour first and foremost - getting that right. Our last tour went really well and I think we put on a good show, but we have no plans yet for this one. It's an arena tour - way bigger than the theatre tour - so we've got a lot of work to do. So that's my plan: to get that nailed before we embarrass ourselves in Nottingham on 15 February [first show]. We're going to America for a little bit as well.
Nathan: Recording our third album. We're going to write with some big American artists in the New Year - some really exciting people who aren't confirmed yet so can't mention them!
Jay: Get another No.1!
My best Christmas present would be:
Max: If our album was at No.1 - but it won't be!
Nathan: But early next year, if we had a sudden spike in sales, that would be wonderful. If everyone went out in the January sales and...
The Wanted's album Battleground is out now. They play Belfast's Odyssey Arena on March 8, the O2 Dublin on March 9 and support Westlife in Croke Park on June 22 and 23.
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