The Wanted FAULT Magazine Covershoot and Interview

It’s been over ten years since The Wanted burst onto the scene with their debut UK number one single ‘All Time Low’ which turned the boys into household names seemingly overnight.
Having announced their hiatus in 2014, this September the band reunited to play a very special show in support of Stand Up To Cancer and The National Brain Appeal and also to honour bandmate Tom Parker who has been diligently working hard to spread awareness whilst going through his own personal battle against cancer.

The Wanted will also be releasing a greatest hits album and heading on tour next year so with much to discuss and unpack about their musical journey we sat down with the band to find out more.

How easy was the transition from your solo projects back to working as a group again?

Tom: It feels like it never stopped. We fell back into our individual roles and the sense of humour that we have as a group never really leaves so you just pick up where you left off.

Jay: You can branch out and explore new things, but as soon as I was back in the meetings and photoshoots I felt my role in the band was just as solid.

Max: What is your role in the band?

Jay: A little bit of f*cking around to liven the mood and then just the blimp that follows The Wanted around (laughs).

There will be two new tracks on the album, are these newly recorded or have they been pulled from the archive?

Nathan: They’re new songs recorded in London and LA and the process went really well thanks to a lot of communication which pulled everything together.

While you were at the height of everything in the 2010s did it feel like you were taking in the experience or did it pass by in a blur?

Siva: It was a blur, and it happened so quickly when we were younger. Now, we’re, we’re taking it slow, absorbing it more, and enjoying each other and the experience.

Tom: Enjoying each other is the key thing. We all respect each other’s spaces and company. The first time around, we’d spent so much time together in such an intense environment that by the end I just wanted to forget everything about the band.

Max: While I loved it the first time, I don’t remember a lot of it partly because there was so much going on. We were going out, drinking, playing show after show all mixed together. But we weren’t doing anything that other pop bands of the time weren’t doing, it was the way it was. Now, where you can just drop a track on Spotify whereas back then if you had an album, you pretty much did an album’s work worth of promotion in between touring and TV shows – it was mental.

When you look back on your career as a group, what would you say was the hardest hurdle you’ve had to overcome?

Jay: I think we were constantly chasing success that we never realized that we already had it. We got out a number one as our first single but every time we didn’t get a number one after that, we’d quietly beat ourselves up about it. We just had to be better than the last thing we did over and over again and that sort of pressure is really intense. I don’t think that pressure is anyone’s fault, management, fans, family can all make it worse or better at different times.

Tom: Time management was a hurdle because the label wanted us to do everything that we could, whereas, for us, time for ourselves is important. We didn’t give ourselves enough time to do our personal endeavours – that’s one thing that we hopefully can learn from the last time that we can take into this new era.

What don’t you think journalists talk about enough when we think of The Wanted?

Jay: I think something that we don’t recognise enough is how JLS came out a year before us from the X factor and no one expected a boy band to ever come back. I think labels saw that and thought “let’s take that and put a bunch of white guys in there to see what happens.” As much as we broke out of nowhere, I think it was JLS who paved the way. We were able to take their formula and build this hype around the world.

Nathan; We did it a slightly different way doing the school and club tours so JLS walked so One Direction could run. JLS set the bar so high I think it allowed bands like us and One Direction the space and exposure to have the success that we have.

Tom: We set up a new era of boyband, traditional boybands would be all singing all dancing and I do think that we broke away a little bit and were edgier. I think people didn’t expect that, so I was really proud of that scene that we created.

Could you pinpoint the moment when you knew you’d made it as a band?

Jay: For me, there were many little moments like with our first song going to number one and even small things like our first red carpet interview, first award and looking back there were wonderful days that stick in your head.

The ‘Inside My Head’ performance looked like an emotional return, what did it feel like to have so many fans and musicians come together to show support to something that was so close to your heart?

Tom: I’m very fortunate, we raised a lot of money, raised a lot of awareness for cancer and that was ultimately the goal. And obviously, they brought us back together as well, which is nice. So ultimately it was a success.

Max: It was an incredible night. It was emotional, especially for Tom not just because it was about raising awareness for cancer, but because people got to see all the work that he put in and just what it achieved. The songs felt so special. Being away for so long and coming back with the same track we performed at schools and nightclubs was emotional. We just wish that we were here under different circumstances because Tom’s obviously going through what he is and none of us wants that for someone so close to our heart. We’re super proud of him and the night was a massive success for Tom and everyone involved.

What does this new tour mean to you?

Siva: I’m just looking forward to seeing the fan reaction to the new tracks. We’ve always been a performance-based band – we’ve always done liked making people feel good. I think when we get out there, it’s gonna be great just to see us all a few years older bringing new music, new vibes and making some new memories.

Max: I just want people to go home and go, “God, that was special and worth the wait.” Now that we’ve come back together and started doing stuff, I think we feel ready now. I think there was a secret apprehension with all of us about how it would go and after one photoshoot it clicked again and I felt ready to go.

What is your FAULT?

Tom: I’m very reactive. So I don’t think things through before.

Max: I’m too emotional with things. Everything’s quite heightened with me when I’m happy, I’m beyond happy, but when I’m sad, I’m terribly sad and when I’m annoyed I can get angry.

Jay: I like people but I find it sometimes easier to abandon them for a bit. I really like turning my phone off. I like moving to a different country, not speaking to someone for years and then I just drift away. I find that I’ve hurt a lot of people just by disappearing.

Siva: I think it’s been present before but I need to remember self-love and to take time to take a moment to check in with myself. Even with small things like unhealthy eating, I would just run with it so my fault would be not checking it on myself fully.

Nathan. My communication could be better especially when communicating emotions and feelings; I can keep them all in my head a lot of the time. When I feel like I’ve got something to say it’s hard getting it out of my head.