One Direction’s fan base is simply enormous, with the group selling out their 2013 tour in a matter of hours. The trouble is, that they don’t appear to be the most civil of groups.
Massively touchy and incredibly protective of their favourite band, the group known as ‘Directioners’ have become a source of real infamy.
After Pixie Geldof received death threats yesterday after simply deigning to be in the same photograph as Harry Styles, do the band have to step in and put a stop to the weirdness.
While we know that boy-band fans can get more than a little crazy, even Take That at their biggest didn’t have this sort of worrying fanbase. We all know the story about the Ed Sullivan’s show’s seats needing to be throw out after The Beatles caused fans to, err, have a little bit of an accident, but at least then they simply kept the hysteria to themselves.
Devotion to the band is ok, but threatening those who even come near a member and ridiculing those who have flings with them in magazines? Little bit too much.
Even the rabid fans of Justin Bieber don’t get this weird.
In an era of anonymous insults flying through hyperspace like nobody’s business and celebrities being publically contactable for the first time, the amount of idiotic mud-slinging has gone through the roof. And before anyone says anything, it’s not ‘banter’. It’s bullying.
It must also have a direct impact on the group themselves. They can’t have a personal life because of the crazy fans and the actions of the Directioners have tarnished the group’s image, causing a whole bunch of resentment from other areas of music fans.
For this writer, it’s still massively perplexing why the band have the rabid fanbase they do.
C’mon, they’re five random boys who weren’t good enough to make it through the X Factor auditions alone so were mushed together to bulk up the weak ‘groups’ section.
While they’re not aggressively awful, One Direction are more a successful marketing exercise than music making maestros. Let’s face it, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ isn’t exactly ‘Hard Day’s Night’. Quick question, can you name both of their other singles without heading over to Google? If you can then you’re better than me.
So come on guys, before this gets any sillier, just tell them to calm down.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in Pixie Geldof One Direction Harry Styles