The fact that that 5 Seconds Of Summer, a pop-rock band from Sydney, have been battling with Dua Lipa for the No1 spot in the UK album charts this week tells you everything you need to know about just how wildly popular they are. The latter was supposed to be a shoo-in, but by the middle of the week the four-piece were steaming ahead to the tune of 7,000 sales with their fourth album. Today, the Official Charts announced that the band narrowly beat Britain's pop queen to the top spot, marking their second No1 album here in the UK.
5 Seconds Of Summer, you see, who often go by the abbreviated 5SOS, inspire One Direction levels of devotion and have done since they supported Harry Styles et al on tour in 2013, a gig that brought them worldwide recognition before they’d even released a debut single.
Since releasing that 2014 debut single, “She Looks So Perfect”, which also went to No1 here in the UK, the band have racked up hundreds of millions of streams and played arena gigs across the world. Still in their early twenties, 5SOS – made up of Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford on vocals and guitar, plus Calum Hood on bass and Ashton Irwin on drums – have grown up on the road, an experience that forms the thematic basis for their brand-new album, CALM. In honour of the new record, we caught up with Hemmings and Clifford to go back to their beginnings, from the earliest days of the band to their most extravagant purchases.
The first time you all met…
Luke Hemmings: The first time I met Calum and Michael was at year seven orientation day. My first impression was pretty nervous because I didn’t have any friends at that point and they had already been at the school for a couple of years. Ashton and I first met at a movie theatre. Some guy was actually giving me some shit and he defended me, so straight away I thought he was a nice guy. The next time I met Ashton was at our first band practice. That was over at Michael’s house and I was blown away by how good of a drummer he is. When we started I was only 15 years old, so we obviously didn’t realise at that point what a long journey it would be for us, but it did feel like we had something special, even back then, for sure.
Michael Clifford: I met Calum when I was in second grade, Luke when I was in seventh grade and Ashton when I was in ninth grade. Calum was my best friend from day one. Luke and I hated each other and fought over girls. Ashton was like our big brother; he drove us around and would give us advice.
The first time you played in front of a live audience…
LH: The first gig we ever played was at a pub in Sydney called the Annandale Hotel to approximately 12 people. It smelled like a mixture of stale beer and piss in there. We thought we were maybe going to have 100 or so people there, but it turned out we may have overshot… It was the best/worst gig of my life. I’ll never forget it.
MC: It was 3 December 2011. It was also the first official day of 5SOS. It was such a special moment in time that we actually re-created it in our new video for “Old Me”. We go back and visit all of the landmarks that were important to us growing up.
The first time you got drunk…
MC: The first time I got drunk was with the other guys in 5SOS for my 16th birthday. I think I drank my parents’ port. It was not good. I’ve never drank port again. But I went through a phase where I got drunk a lot, though I’ve kinda grown out of that now. Occasionally I’ll have a cider or a gin drink (shoutout to Ryan Reynolds for turning me on to that), but I don’t really get wasted any more.
The first time you fell properly in love…
MC: When I met my fiancée, Crystal. I’m an incredibly lucky man to have learned what true love is. It’s funny how once you have it, everything else in life just sorta clicks into place. You look back and everything “before” makes sense, like lessons you had to learn to get to the version of yourself that can responsibly handle and accept real love. We’ve helped each other grow into the best versions of ourselves and we continue to learn and grow every day.
The first record you ever bought…
LH: The first record I bought with my own money was Good Charlotte’s “The Young And The Hopeless”. But the first album I listened to extensively was from my dad and that was “Back In Black” by AC/DC. I love the spirit of early pop punk and we incorporated that into our earlier albums. AC/DC being such a huge Aussie band is definitely something I carry with me, and it still means a lot with us being from Australia. My music taste now is all over the place, but I usually end up somewhere in the 1980s with my playlist.
MC: Eminem’s "Curtain Call" is the best CD of all time. It’s still my favourite to this day.
The first time you put together a stage outfit…
LH: In the early days our stage outfits were very simply put together. We had no money and probably no taste. Black skinny jeans and Vans was the uniform before upgrading and trying out many different styles and incorporating different influences. So many from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. I love Michael Hutchence from INXS and what he used to wear. And AC/DC being one of the biggest Australian bands of all time is something I still carry with me today.
MC: I still haven’t. The way I dress on stage is just how I dress in real life, it always has been. There isn’t really a “stage me” and a “normal me”.
Your first teenage celebrity crush was...
MC: Jessica Alba. My No1! It’s funny because I still admire her now, but for different reasons. My fiancée does too. She’s pretty inspiring.
The first time you made money out of being a musician…
MC: I’m not sure if it counts, but me and Calum, our bassist, busked outside of a shopping mall with a ukulele and someone gave us $50. So we immediately went out and bought another ukulele. It’s safe to say that the one ukulele was enough. We never made another dollar busking.
LH: Before the band I used to busk anywhere I could and for a long time I made more money doing that than in the first couple of years being in 5SOS.
The first time you blew your paycheque frivolously…
MC: I’m addicted to board games. I will go on Amazon and just buy thousands of D&D miniatures, tons of board games, rare chess pieces. I don’t really blow money on anything else... except maybe the house I just bought, but it was beyond worth it. I can’t imagine being quarantined anywhere else. It feels like summer camp.
LH: I had a couple of years where I had an obsession with boots.
The first time a politician made you mad…
MC: Trump. First and only. Every day it’s something else with him that just makes me think WTF? I didn’t realise how insane American politics were until he was elected. I remember my fiancée crying her eyes out on an aeroplane when he was elected, and that’s when I realised. We’re lucky to have a government in Australia that supports its citizens wholeheartedly.
The first argument you guys had while touring…
MC: Who ate all the peanut M&Ms. But now that we’re more evolved, we argue about pressed juice.
The first time you met a fan…
MC: The first time I met one of our fans was at our very first gig. There were only 12 fans and we met every one of them. Not that it took very long... I still really enjoy meeting our fans. They are incredibly passionate and talented, you should see their art!
The first time you felt like rock stars…
LH: I think at the beginning we all had a joint feeling that something about us was special. Call it delusional or driven but we felt like we would get there with everything we had. When we saw how devoted our fans were (and still are) it was a huge moment to see how much we meant to people.
MC: When we were given free jars of Vegemite with our names written on them. That’s when we knew we’d really made it.
The first karaoke you always want to sing…
MC: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. Obviously.
LH: Anything by Journey.
The first time you, as a band, realised you were good…
MC: Are we good? We keep winning the “Worst Band” NME award so I’m not so sure.
The first thing you’d do if you became president…
MC: I would hate to be president of the United States, it’s too much responsibility. But the first policy I’d launch would probably be free healthcare for all and also free college education. Healthcare should be a basic human right, not a privilege. The same goes with education.
