Pod Insights We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson Little Mix & One Direction: What REALLY Happened Off Stage About this episode Perrie Edwards and Lou Teasdale pull back the curtain on life inside two of the biggest pop groups of a generation. Perrie reflects on growing up in Little Mix, becoming one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, public heartbreak, pressure, and the sisterhood that carried them through. Lou shares what it was really like touring the world with One Direction, raising her daughter on the road, the fan chaos, the private jets, and why life behind the scenes was far less glamorous than it looked.
This is a rare look inside Little Mix, One Direction, fame, friendship, and the real cost of growing up in the spotlight.
(00:00) Intro
(00:32) The Success of Little Mix
(02:00) How Little Mix Shaped Perrie as a Woman
(04:17) Why Perrie Still Sees Little Mix as Underdogs
(08:02) Perrie’s Most Challenging Time in Little Mix
(09:20) Finding Stability While Touring the World
(12:23) How Lou Started Working With One Direction
(14:14) The First One Direction Tour
(14:57) How Fame Changed the Members of One Direction
(17:10) The Best Moments of Life on Tour
(19:34) The Wildest Things Fans Did to Meet One Direction
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Transcript 0:01 Speaker 00 This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Football has a play for just about everything. You can go deep, keep it on the ground, or draw up something nobody sees coming. And whether you want to run a flea flicker or the tush push, you need a plan to fit your unique situation. That's why State Farm takes the time to get to know you so they can help personalize coverage for your life and budget. Now that's a solid game plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
0:29 Speaker 01 Welcome to We're Talking. In this episode, Perry Edwards and Lou Teasdale pull back the curtain on what life was really like inside a 2010's pop machine. From global tours and record-breaking highs to the emotional toll of growing up on the road.
0:58 Speaker 01 So the super group is put together.
1:00 Speaker 02 Yes.
1:00 Speaker 01 And you go on to win.
1:02 Speaker 02 Yes.
1:03 Speaker 01 What I understand, this is the first group to win the X Factor.
1:09 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:09 Speaker 01 All right, not bad.
1:10 Speaker 02 Crazy.
1:11 Speaker 01 Not bad.
1:12 Speaker 02 Not shy.
1:13 Speaker 01 And then you go on to participate in a little group called Little Mix.
1:17 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:18 Speaker 01 Which
1:18 Speaker 02 Cashew hole.
1:19 Speaker 01 I will say, what I was blown away, this is the stat I was blown away. So I was interviewing Ashley Roberts. And I was doing research on the Pussycat Dolls.
1:29 Speaker 02 Yep.
1:30 Speaker 01 At how many albums, streams, and singles the Pussycat Dolls had sold.
1:36 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:36 Speaker 01 There were only a few groups that had sold more.
1:40 Speaker 02 Right.
1:41 Speaker 01 You know, the top three.
1:44 Speaker 02 Okay.
1:45 Speaker 01 It was the Spice Girls.
1:46 Speaker 02 Yep.
1:47 Speaker 01 The Supremes.
1:48 Speaker 02 Oh, wow.
1:49 Speaker 01 And Little Mix.
1:50 Speaker 02 No.
1:51 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:51 Speaker 02 I thought you were gonna say Destiny's Child or like on Vogue.
1:54 Speaker 01 Destiny's Child was next.
1:55 Speaker 02 Wow.
1:56 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:57 Speaker 02 That's wild.
1:57 Speaker 01 In terms of albums, streams, singles.
2:04 Speaker 02 That's mind blown, isn't it?
2:06 Speaker 01 That's just.
2:08 Speaker 02 We did so well. That is crazy.
2:11 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's just mad.
2:13 Speaker 02 Yeah.
2:13 Speaker 01 So when you think about that entire period, like, how many years were you and the girls together?
2:19 Speaker 02 Twelve, I believe.
2:21 Speaker 01 Okay.
2:21 Speaker 02 Yeah.
2:22 Speaker 01 And that was an important twelve because you were literally becoming a woman.
2:26 Speaker 02 Yes.
2:26 Speaker 01 During that time.
2:27 Speaker 02 Yeah.
2:28 Speaker 01 So how do you think being in this super group?
2:32 Speaker 01 Shaped you as a woman?
2:35 Speaker 02 Oh, massively. I feel like, because I was the youngest as well, I looked up to them so much. And I learnt so much from them. I feel like growing up in the public eye isn't easy. But when you have three other girls who are going through it, it kind of takes the load off a little bit. But I always say, like, it sounds crazy, but me and the girls were so in each other's pockets and so in sync that it was like next level in sync. So like, if one of us went through heartbreak, we all felt it. If one of us lost a family member, we were all heartbroken. If one of us was like winning in life, we were all winning in life. Like, we were literally, we felt every emotion, like, in sync. It was so bizarre.
3:19 Speaker 02 Like, not just like, oh babe, I'm here for you. It was like, we were all heartbroken. Because we just felt it. We didn't want to see one of us that down and that sad. We all just kind of tuck it on as well. So I think our connection was huge. And I'm so grateful because when we were put in the group, it was like, girl bands clash. You'll argue, you won't get along, it'll be really competitive. And there was moments where it was like, babe, can you stop pissing me off? But other than that, we just adored each other. Like, we had each other's backs, we didn't argue. And even though people wanted to make that the headline every five seconds of our career.
4:01 Speaker 01 Right.
4:01 Speaker 02 We didn't.
4:02 Speaker 01 Right.
4:02 Speaker 02 We just knew exactly what we wanted. We had each other. We all had one vision and one goal and we knew what we wanted to do. And we were always the underdogs. Like, from the very beginning. It's like you won't do very well. Girl bands don't do that that well. And it won't last and all this stuff. And we, I think that's what gave us the fire in our bellies to wanna work so much and so hard.
4:25 Speaker 01 Yes.
4:25 Speaker 02 To prove everybody wrong. So I think that's why we were never, we never just sat back and thought, ah. We were like, what can we do now? What else can we do? How can we make this bigger? Where can we take this now? Like, we were constantly going.
4:39 Speaker 01 Yes.
4:40 Speaker 02 At a pace.
4:40 Speaker 01 Yes. And I mean, you could see it in in the results, you know, so.
4:44 Speaker 02 Yeah.
4:44 Speaker 01 Uh, the biggest selling, uh, the biggest selling single, shout out to my ex. Stayed at number one for three weeks, achieved over two million in total sales in the UK.
4:55 Speaker 02 Wow.
4:55 Speaker 01 Billboard ranked Black Magic among the one hundred greatest girl group songs of all time.
5:02 Speaker 02 Wow.
5:03 Speaker 01 The debut album, DNA, was the first by a British girl group to debut in the US top five.
5:11 Speaker 02 Yeah.
5:12 Speaker 01 Spice Girls didn't even do that.
5:14 Speaker 02 That one was a big one.
5:15 Speaker 01 That, I mean, the, your fourth album, uh, Glory Days, became the longest reigning top forty album by a girl group since the Spice Girls. It's like numbers don't lie.
5:26 Speaker 02 Yeah.
5:26 Speaker 01 In terms of how successful the group was.
5:30 Speaker 02 Hmm.
5:30 Speaker 01 Do you think there was ever a point where you were no longer the underdog? Or did you stay?
5:36 Speaker 02 Stayed.
5:36 Speaker 01 You stayed.
5:37 Speaker 02 Yeah, you could read those numbers to a million people and they'd be like, yeah, they weren't that good. People just didn't see us as that credible for a long time. I think eventually people started to see it, but I still think they looked at us and thought, oh, they're just four little girls in a pop group. I don't think they really saw the graft and the dedication and the numbers, like, and the success that we had. I still think people kind of oversee it a little bit.
6:02 Speaker 01 Why do you think that is, right? Now that you could reflect back a little bit, um, I know it was a different time in terms of media.
6:10 Speaker 02 Yeah.
6:11 Speaker 01 Uh, but but why do, why do you think that the Little Mix remained the underdog?
6:17 Speaker 02 I think part of it was our age and our name, which is great because it kept us young. But at the same time, I think we were like four little girls kind of at the start. And I think even when we were like thirty years old, people were still like, oh, Little Mix. Like, I don't think they really, like, people age, funnily enough. Um, and I think they always just seen us as like these little pop girlies. I don't think we ever shook that, which we didn't really care, to be honest, because we were like, we're living our best lives. But people did have that like opinion on us.
6:54 Speaker 01 Yeah, so I got to the UK uh in twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen. Every time I heard Little Mix, right?
7:02 Speaker 02 Yeah.
7:02 Speaker 01 I thought, um, you know, advocate around feminism.
7:07 Speaker 02 Yeah.
7:07 Speaker 01 Advocate around queer rights.
7:09 Speaker 02 Yeah.
7:09 Speaker 01 You know, so to me, those are positions of leadership.
7:13 Speaker 02 Mm hmm.
7:14 Speaker 01 Though, did, did, did you feel like that gave the group any bit of uh the, the visibility of maturity?
7:21 Speaker 02 Yes.
7:22 Speaker 01 Okay.
7:23 Speaker 02 I do think so. I think like when I'm saying people didn't see us as that credible and all these other things, it was more the people that didn't want to like Little Mix. Everyone who wanted to like Little Mix, they were the reason we were so big because they were so dedicated. They were like diehard and still are like diehard fans. Like, I think our Spotify streams were still one of the highest girl groups still. We haven't released a song in years, but they're still there, they're still listening, they're still loving it. And that's why I think we have it all to thank, like, they, they are everything, our fanbase, they were huge.
8:00 Speaker 01 Yes.
8:01 Speaker 02 Like massive.
8:02 Speaker 01 Yes, yeah, massive.
8:05 Speaker 02 They went hard.
8:06 Speaker 01 Gargantuan.
8:07 Speaker 02 Yeah.
8:08 Speaker 01 Large, like every.
8:09 Speaker 02 Yeah.
8:10 Speaker 01 Every descriptor you could say for, for massive.
8:12 Speaker 02 They were so good.
8:14 Speaker 01 So those moments, though, I know that you've said that those are some of the greatest moments of your life, but it must have been challenging as well.
8:23 Speaker 02 Oh, yeah.
8:23 Speaker 01 When you reflect back.
8:25 Speaker 02 Yeah.
8:25 Speaker 01 What was, or what do you believe was the most challenging moment for you during your time with Little Mix?
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9:31 Speaker 02 Oh, God. I don't even want to say it because everyone will be like, oh, let it go. It was so long ago. Probably going through a public breakup was the worst ever for me. It was horrible. And also going through like personal things with family or personal things with, like, we were so dedicated to little mix that I think we, like, being away from our family and friends was really difficult. Like, that's another side that people don't see. We were like young girls whisked off, and that was it. I didn't see my mom very much, my brother, didn't see my family for a lot of time. And I think that was kind of the hardest parts. And then just going through anything personal in the public is just icky, McBicky.
10:14 Speaker 01 Yes.
10:14 Speaker 02 It's awful.
10:15 Speaker 01 Yes. How did you manage that? Because, you know, you were, from looking at you as a little girl, right? Moving around, this sense of, I need to have some stability in my life.
10:27 Speaker 02 Yeah.
10:27 Speaker 01 Then you become an adult and you're moving around, going around. There's no stability.
10:33 Speaker 02 Yeah.
10:34 Speaker 01 So how do you then reconcile being able to feel safe and stable and this motion that you're continually in?
10:46 Speaker 02 I think I probably feel more safe and settled now than I ever have been. But I think it's because I have like a very stable relationship. I have a child, like things aren't as chaotic as it was in the Little Mix days. So I think, obviously having a child, it just puts everything in perspective, right? You don't sweat the small stuff anymore. You think there's actually bigger things in life than these worries and issues that I have. Like, yeah, they're valid. It's great to feel them. But I think when you kind of settle down and you meet your person and you have a child and all these lovely things happen in life, it's like, ah.
11:24 Speaker 01 I can, I can exhale.
11:25 Speaker 02 This is it.
11:26 Speaker 01 I can exhale.
11:27 Speaker 02 This is lovely.
11:27 Speaker 01 But during that time, it seems like during the, you know, the, the time in the, in the group, you couldn't, you were just.
11:33 Speaker 02 I couldn't, no.
11:34 Speaker 01 You just.
11:35 Speaker 02 Yeah, it was too much. It was really hard to have relationships when we were in Little Mix, because I think it's a lot to ask of someone. Um, because we were never home, like ever, and we never really had days off. It was probably like round about Christmas would get a little bit of time off. But yeah, I think it would have been hard to kind of navigate a relationship at that time anyway. Um, and I remember meeting Alex and we were gonna go on the Ariana Grande tour for three months. And I was like, look, I'm going on tour three months. We can call this off now if you want. And he was like, what, why would we do that? And I just in my head assumed that someone wouldn't wait for me if I was doing my thing for three months.
12:16 Speaker 01 Yes.
12:17 Speaker 02 So I just assumed, oh, he'll probably just go and then that'll be it. And he was like, why can't I wait for you for three months? What, what's wrong with that? And I was like, really? He was like, yes, well, why wouldn't I? What do you mean? And I was like, okay, fab. And then that was when we started our relationship. So the first three months of our relationship, we were just Skyping.
12:40 Speaker 01 But let's, let's talk about that though, because, because it's, you had already assumed.
12:44 Speaker 02 Yes.
12:45 Speaker 01 That you can't sustain a relationship with someone. Or maybe someone can't sustain a relationship with you, or maybe it's not fair.
12:51 Speaker 02 Yes.
12:52 Speaker 01 Because of your, your, your, your job.
12:54 Speaker 02 Yes.
12:54 Speaker 01 Right? So when you look back, what, what, what do you think it was or what is it? And this isn't just for you. This is for anyone who's in, in this constant flow in their position. What do you, what do you think the reason is, is why a relationship can't be sustained?
13:11 Speaker 04 I think it probably comes from maybe past relationships and how the other person's handled it. And then you just assume, oh, nobody's gonna want this. Does that make sense?
13:23 Speaker 01 Yes.
13:23 Speaker 04 So I think maybe my previous relationship made me think, oh, I probably can't have my cake and eat it. I probably can't be a pop star and have a relationship. It's one or the other.
13:32 Speaker 01 Okay.
13:44 Speaker 01 So how is it that you begin working with One Direction?
13:48 Speaker 04 So I was actually pregnant when I met them and so I wanted boys. And they were really nurturing with me and I felt like they would just look after me and I just wanted to work with them. I didn't, I didn't realise at the time how big they would be. I actually thought it would be an easier gig. And one of the big female acts where it's sort of hard to work, you've got to carry a lot more kit around for one of the girls or whatever. So I just thought, they're cool, they're really easygoing, they're nice to me. I'm gonna stick with that and they just got bigger and bigger and bigger.
14:25 Speaker 01 Wow. Did you have anyone assisting you or was it only you working for One Direction?
14:30 Speaker 04 So, no, I just worked for them on my own, but later on in the tour, maybe four years later, Louis from One Direction, his younger sister, her mum called me up and was like, you know, she hasn't got into sixth form and she wants to do what you do, so she's coming to be your assistant. And I didn't really have much say, but she ended up being my assistant and actually she was like a little grafter and.
15:02 Speaker 04 She ended up teaching me so much because the world of social media was taking over the beauty industry and she was sixteen, so she knew all of that. And I just wouldn't have, I wouldn't have been across the social media world like I, like I was so early on if it wasn't for her. And she, she taught me a lot that ended up making me um secure in my career, even after One Direction had finished because I ended up going into that side of things because of her.
15:32 Speaker 01 Wow, look at that. This is Lottie?
15:33 Speaker 04 Yes.
15:34 Speaker 01 Okay, all right. So now let's talk about this tour that you think you're going on this little tour with this band that probably won't become huge.
15:45 Speaker 04 Yeah, so I'd just had a baby and um they'd said, you know, what about if you bring, bring her because the boys really want you. Um, and we can do this and some logistic discussions. And actually, I never really came home for five years from that. It just kept going and more would get booked in because it was going so well. And it just spiraled into what it turned into. And I was committed, I was in it with them. What their diary was my diary. I would never say I can't be there because they can't do that.
16:19 Speaker 01 You had a very intimate look at one of the most successful bands as they climbed the charts. So what, what did you notice about how they changed as their notoriety grew?
16:37 Speaker 04 I think that when people become more successful, they do naturally become a lot more um. They keep their circle close, smaller. Um, and we sort of had five circles really on our tour and.
16:56 Speaker 04 I think that it just became really difficult for them to go after what they wanted. Because there was kind of this bigger picture going on that was so successful. They had to all really not make it about them. But they all had things that they wanted to achieve. And I think with that gig specifically, that there just had to be an end point. Because it wasn't sustainable, because there were five human beings with five, you know, life goals and things that they want. Even people on the team, we were being offered these opportunities because it was so successful that we couldn't take.
17:38 Speaker 01 Right.
17:38 Speaker 04 You know, they were being offered movies, they were being offered all of these things. And so to keep touring as a group wasn't really possible if they wanted to achieve anything, what they wanted to achieve. Outside of that. So, I mean, I would love them to come back together and do something. I hope that they do, because I think that's actually, even though they've gone on to do amazing things. I think now when you look back at what they were doing, that was what was cool.
18:09 Speaker 01 Yes.
18:10 Speaker 04 You know, and that was why all us fans are there, because it was really cool. But then they've gone off to do all of the things that they want to do, and so have we, and everybody was part of it.
18:20 Speaker 01 Yeah, but it makes sense in that as the whole enterprise became more successful, everyone's getting opportunities.
18:27 Speaker 04 Yeah.
18:27 Speaker 01 Right, as a result of that.
18:29 Speaker 04 Yeah.
18:29 Speaker 01 When you think back to the highs and lows, right? What were some of the greatest highs of travelling with the band throughout the world with your, with your daughter?
18:42 Speaker 04 Mm hmm.
18:42 Speaker 01 What were some of those greatest highs for you?
18:45 Speaker 04 Um, I can't, I can never think of anything specific, and that is because it's such a blur, really. Even just how it would be with some of the hotels and the crowds of fans that were waiting all the time. And it sort of meant we couldn't really do much. It was, it was. You know, we would kind of, me and Lottie would kind of try and sneak out and get to like a Zara or a Starbucks or something to try and get out of the hotel. But really, we were waiting for the time off to be able to just go on on a on a holiday or things like that because the the time on tour was quite was quite hard work to do anything fun.
19:30 Speaker 01 Yes.
19:30 Speaker 04 And we were, they were going on like the biggest shows in the world and we were on a private jet every day and all of that. But really, that becomes quite, if that just becomes normal life and not that exciting after, you know, my my mom used to come out to help me with the baby. She'd just be like videoing like the police convoy and like the jet and like videoing Harry, what he's doing. I'm like, oh, stop filming him like, and she's like, so exciting. And and it becomes a bit of an eye roll, really, when you're doing it.
20:01 Speaker 01 You're doing it.
20:01 Speaker 04 Because you're just doing your job and.
20:03 Speaker 01 So so what stands out most are are the the sea of fans.
20:08 Speaker 04 Yeah, the sea of fans and like the people, you know, they would be like Barack Obama there or or.
20:14 Speaker 01 At a.
20:15 Speaker 04 Yeah, everyone, every, anyone you could think of. I remember we saw Eminem at something and his daughter was there and they would just be like, everyone you could think of would have kids that wanted to come and see One Direction wherever we were in the world.
20:30 Speaker 01 You know, I I always find it interesting when you see someone like Barack Obama, for example, I would imagine it was his daughters.
20:35 Speaker 04 Yeah.
20:36 Speaker 01 That wanted to come see One Direction.
20:37 Speaker 04 Yeah.
20:38 Speaker 01 Uh, so Sasha and Malia. So you think, okay, here's Barack Obama. At that time, was he president of the United States? He's president of the United States.
20:46 Speaker 04 Mm hmm.
20:47 Speaker 01 Comes to see this group, right, that you're working with. Does, what what does that teach you or show you about humanity?
20:55 Speaker 04 Just that we're all the same.
20:57 Speaker 01 So you you you talked about the the sea of fans. I would imagine that fans did some pretty wild things to get to the boys.
21:07 Speaker 04 Mm hmm.
21:07 Speaker 01 What what were some of those?
21:10 Speaker 04 You know, there would be just like transit vans full of girls along the motorway and they've opened the side thing and they're trying to touch the car and we're all driving. And it's really, really dangerous.
21:21 Speaker 01 Oh, my gosh. Do they break into the hotels?
21:25 Speaker 04 They would always be in the hotels, yeah, because they would just book rooms. So really, they were, you know, because they were young, they would generally do as they were told. So if they were in the swimming pool or the gym, and we would go in the gym. If security would say, you need to get out for now, they would do as they were told.
21:41 Speaker 01 Okay.
21:41 Speaker 04 Whereas some of the older people that would come, and there was a quite, there were a few elderly fans that would come everywhere, they sort of don't get moved on as much.
21:50 Speaker 01 Interesting.
21:51 Speaker 04 But actually, it was, I would find that more threatening. I didn't understand that as much as the younger fans of why they were, they were there again. And when they were in the last hotel and now you're in this.
22:07 Speaker 01 Oh, wow. So, so they would just book throughout the whole tour and just stay with you all?
22:11 Speaker 04 Yeah. And they would have a lot of information and some of them were like elderly.
22:16 Speaker 01 Do, do you think the guys felt safe all the time?
22:19 Speaker 04 No.
22:20 Speaker 01 Yeah, I would have, because I would have, not, not whatsoever.
22:24 Speaker 04 Hmm.
22:24 Speaker 01 You know, with that. And if you want to hear the full, unfiltered stories from today's guest, you can check them out on the We Need to Talk page. Drop a like, leave a comment and hit subscribe. See you next week.
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