Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles: Ready, Steady Go! (The Early Years, 2011) Part IV

 

Part II, closing paragraph:

These guys were not going down without a fight though and Narnia's next post will begin to examine the good, the bad, and the ugly. Through it all, what made everything worth the while was the love that remained. The unbreakable bond being forged between all five men. The fandom that provided and continues to provide a platform for their truth. And the faith in the future that endures to this day.

Largely overlooked at the time, a seemingly routine event occurred on March 23, 2011 which provided an early glimpse into one of the many ways TPTB intended to control the individual futures of One Direction, in addition to trying to forge a wedge between Louis and Harry in the public's eyes. The occurrence started out harmlessly enough with a lighthearted bet at the Capital FM East Midlands Radio Station. During the station's interview with One Direction, prior to their Live Nottingham concert that night, Louis was coaxed into wearing a full-body carrot suit at the Motorpoint Arena. Being the sporting and charitable type, Louis agreed to the challenge on the one condition that the station would fundraise off the playful dare.

For those not in the know, the premise of the agreement was based on Louis' tongue-in-cheek Video Diary comment from Week 2 of the X Factor about how he liked girls who ate carrots. As part of the fun, the radio station generously agreed to give a £500 donation in support of the Help for Heroes UK charity. At the end of the evening, an additional £200 came in from fans and crew members as well, for a grand total of £700 ($1,100+ in U.S. currency). Not a bad haul considering the group averaged only about 20 minutes a night on stage, supplemented by eight other contestants from Series 7, during the X Factor Live Show tour. Never mind that the final upshot of the donation would be great press for the fledgling group.

Big-hearted, Louis

X Factor Live Tour, Nottingham March 23, 2011

X Factor Live Tour, Nottingham March 23, 2011

What was notable about what should have been an innocuous fundraising challenge was that even at this early date in One Direction's rise, Louis was pretty much marginalized and ignored by TPTB. In retrospect, the dismissive posture was even more significant in that the X Factor Live Tour literally provided the stage for Louis' philanthropic endeavor. Moreover, Simon Cowell had previously organized the 16 Finalists of the X Factor show to come together in November 2010 to record David Bowie's, "Heroes" in support of the very same Help4Heroes organization. Within this context, the lack of publicity or any official recognition by the groups' team was notable. In the vacuum created, Harry's enthusiastic praise stood out even more. A predictable sign of support, which TPTB somehow forgot to factor in when implementing their cold-shoulder approach.  

Harry leaving a gym in London, November 16, 2010, demonstrating X Factor charity support

By hyping Louis' accomplishment on Twitter, Harry, in fact, not only made sure his man was not about to be ignored but he added a separate heartfelt personal message (#ProudOf Louis) that received almost 323,000 'Likes'. Maybe not wanting to look ungrateful, the Help for Heroes Charity finally recognized Louis' contribution, approximately twelve hours later. One has to wonder, but not have to strain too hard to figure out, why the charitable organization waited so long to acknowledge Louis' stand out effort.

Note the same day dates and times of Harry's tweets, compared to the Help for Heroes Charity

The message was loud and clear and most importantly, not a one-off snub. TPTB were setting the pattern that they were not interested in using resources or industry connections to elevate Louis beyond the "me-girlfriend" image and headlines they were constructing for him behind the scenes. This Sony marketing PowerPoint was widely shared on Tumblr in April 2015, although the corporate hacked documents (over 100 terabytes of Sony confidential data) began to be leaked as early as December 2014. Now ask the simple question. Why would Sony want a barely out of his teens, gorgeous young boyband member, to be marketed as an unattainable fantasy boyfriend? Think about it.

Sony's 2012 brand and image strategy for Louis Tomlinson

Jump ahead two years later on March 15, 2013, when Louis had creatively committed to dyeing his hair red as part of Comic Relief's support of the Red Nose Charity campaign, and the familiar brush-off routine was repeated again. 

March 15, 2013 BBC Performance by One Direction of "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)"

Louis and Harry, side by side on stage, BBC Television Centre, West London

Instead of Louis being recognized after One Direction's performance of "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)", the BBC telethon hosts, (Claudia Winkleman and Dermot O'Leary) completely ignored his in-the-spirit, "Do Something Funny for Money" red hair. Now, why would that happen when a lighthearted shout-out was basically low hanging fruit? That is, besides the usual suspects being the main sources of the slight (e.g., Simon Cowell and Modest Management). Oh, and let's not forget the far reach of Rob and Howard Stringer as well. Both men heavily embedded in the English music industry and the BBC hierarchy. Strategically useful to later impact Louis' solo music years later (e.g. blackballing his records from radio airplay).

Louis' heartbreaking expression after being completely snubbed by the telethon hosts following One Direction's "One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)" performance

Then there is Getty Images' archived gallery not even including Louis' name in their descriptive heading from that day, even though he appears in the accompanying photo. Just another example of the many ways, Sony/Syco/Modest would minimize and sideline Louis again and again. 

It’s probably an appropriate time to point out a few more examples of how TPTB intentionally ignored and pushed Louis into the background as an aggressive separation campaign (physically as well as in terms of images) began to be launched. For instance, during the beginning of the X Factor show, it was Louis who knew the publicly recognizable celebrity, James Corden. By September 2010, Corden was already well-known among the British public and had been praised for having co-created, written and starred in the BBC sitcom, Gavin and Stacey. He also won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2008 and 2009, and had co-presented at the Brit Awards with Mathew Horne and Kylie Minogue. Prior to that, Corden had starred in the British television drama series Fat Friends from 2000 to 2005, where he and Louis had met because Louis’ mother was a chaperone on the show and his identical twin half-sisters, Daisy and Phoebe, shared roles appearing as babies during the final season.

Louis as an extra on "Fat Friends" (2005), Season Four, Episode 3, "Meat Free"
originally aired on March 3, 2005 on ITV

The public narrative that was formulated at that time was that Louis’ mother had emailed Corden to look after her son while he was in London on X Factor because he didn’t know anyone in the city.  Seemed plausible. Almost sweet. Except if one digs a little bit deeper another connection that has always deserved more scrutiny can be found. Just like Simon Cowell, Corden was heavily associated with the British commercial broadcaster ITV from the beginning of his career and, at the time, had collaborated with Cowell on an unofficial World Cup recording (a cover of Tears for Fears' "Shout") featuring Dizzee Rascal and James Corden. The song was presented as an unauthorized anthem for the England national football team ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Notably, the project had been masterminded by Simon Cowell and debuted live on Britain's Got Talent in June 2010, over two months before X Factor Season 7 even aired on August 21. 

June 2010

So when Corden popped up at thirty-two years old, in Nov 2010, one might wonder if his sudden appearance had been completely motivated out of friendship and a generous heart. After all, the X Factor competition was almost over in approximately two weeks. Louis certainly didn’t need companionship, with Harry practically velcroed to his side for the last four months and he and Harry’s families visiting the boys on set. Moreover, it was more than curious that Corden had just joined twitter only twelve days before publicly connecting with @Louis_Tomlinson on November 27, 2010.

Here’s the tweet where Corden first inserted himself into the rise of One Direction and the gay innuendo, from the very beginning, was bouncing off the walls.

 

The brazen language was no surprise given that Corden was more than familiar with the closet and it was hardly an accident that just around the time he was being inserted into the One Direction juggernaut story at the end of 2010, his own image was being rapidly transformed (overhauled) from a frolicking, same-sex flat mate to house husband, Dominic Cooper in May 2010, (they met in 2004) into a very het, family man, and soon-to-be father. Let’s see, what was that timeline again? Corden’s first son, Max, was born on March 22, 2011. Cooper publicly named the godfather, and then Corden, “tied the knot” with Julia, on September 15, 2012. Sounds like a fast-tracked masterplan being implemented to coincide with One Direction’s meteoric rise, doesn’t it?

 May 28, 2010 www.express.co.uk

Corden and Cooper attending "What Happens in Vegas," after party
at the Empire Casino on April 22, 2008, London

Fast forward to May 26, 2011, and we see Corden begin to be inserted into group photos to reinforce their amicable association. How convenient that Ben Winston and James Corden were already friends and that Winston just happened to have co-directed the JLS concert and “documentary” film at which they were all gathered in London to experience/promote. Remember that JLS were runners-up on the X-Factor in 2008. That’s right, there’s that close-knit “friends” noose circle being tightened around One Direction. All, interestingly enough, connected to Simon Cowell.

JLS 3D Film - Eyes Wide Open at the
Soho Hotel in London, May 26, 2011

Four months later, Corden and One Direction pop up again, in a high profile public capacity, at the Westbury Hotel, attending the Menswear GQ Day in London. Nice to see that Louis was allowed to stand next to Corden this time.

September 21, 2011, Westbury Hotel British GQ Dinner, end of Fashion Week

One more point, before moving on from Dominic Cooper. Narnia is sure that experienced readers will find it amusing to know that Cooper himself allegedly introduced James Corden to his wife. That’s right. An old school friend that popped up from out of nowhere. Got to keep that exclusive, incestuous group as tight as can be when it comes to maintaining closeted secrets. While NDA's are essential, it's still much easier to control shifting narratives and timelines, if necessary, when working with someone inside the house. Sound familiar? One prime example was the official meeting between Corden and his soon-to-be girlfriend, being vaguely set as sometime around 2009, after Cooper supposedly introduced Corden to her. Close enough, Narnia supposes. Even though the cozy Cooper-Corden domestic article posted above was actually from May 2010. Oopsie! It’s also noteworthy that in a later publication, Cooper referred to his relationship with Corden’s family as feeling like “home”.

Evening Standard,  "Dominic Cooper Talks Sharing a Bed
with James Corden and Why He is a Feminist", September 22, 2016

Still, while some cracks in the wall were beginning to appear for Louis and Harry in 2011, there was also an abundance of love and happiness in the air. Lots of tactile togetherness like no one else was in the room. Lots of spot-the-couple moments and inexhaustible public expressions of intimacy. Nothing was changing at all when it came to the love story that was unfolding every day, except for maybe the heighten intensity of the interactions between Louis and Harry as their bond continued to strengthen. 

#Back the Bromance campaign Backstage O2 Arena, London March 19, 2011

Retweet if you love Harry Styles. Thank you, Louis.

O2 Arena London, Tour Diary March 19, 2011

X Factor Tour, April 2, 2011 Glasgow, Scotland

Louis patting Harry's bum, circa April 2011, X Factor Live Tour

X Factor Tour, Cardiff circa April 2011, flirtatious mouth play

Louis sees a sign that says Larry Stylinson threesome, April 10, 2011 Cardiff

Harry reads sign after Louis' encouragement

Harry's reaction to sign

Don't think Harry is much interested in sharing though

X Factor Live Tour Cardiff, April 8, 2011

Plans to move in together as the Live X Factor tour winds down.

April 27, 2011

April 27, 2011

Louis and Harry cuddle on a sofa before their trip to the Courchevel ski resort in the French Alps

Pokémon interview, Sugarscape, April 6, 2011. 

Spot the Couple

Louis and Harry talk about Pikachu, April 6 - Sugarscape

Thank you, Robin,

April 10, 2011

Ski trip to Courchevel, France in the French Alps from April 13 to April 19, 2011.

During Louis and Harry's ski holiday April 15, 2011

Skier's tan returning home, April 19, 2011

What every good boyfriend does

While March and April continued to be full of romance, Louis and Harry's interactions would soon be put under the microscope of supportive fans. With new software and technology, and the rapid growth of the Larrie fandom, ample amounts of documentation was about to be captured and enthusiastically reblogged to maximize exposure. Video footage that might have been overlooked before was suddenly being compiled, analyzed, preserved, and shared. With the easy availability and affordability of multimedia software (video to gif converters; screen recorders; YouTube footage, video editing tools, etc.), subtle details could be highlighted and hard-to-see actions slowed down.  

Take the two gifs below. Upon first viewing, the lovebirds seem lost in their own intimate world. Happy and excited about their upcoming O2 Arena performance as they take in their impressive surroundings. But once the video is slowed down, Louis' eyes tell a different story. Someone to his right was not happy with Louis and Harry's demonstrative affection for one another because he pulls away from Harry in response. Liam notices as well and discreetly takes in Louis' discomfort. 

O2 Arena March 19, 2011 - Notice Louis' eyes

Notice Louis pulling away from Harry

In the years ahead, these kind of awkward encounters, both on and off stage, would only grow and be compiled alongside the ample evidence to the contrary. Push and pull. Give and take. Cooperation and resistance. Through the triumphs and the hardships, a love story remained. Two love stories, in fact, when including Liam and Zayn as well. The filtered lens of TPTB was powerful but One Direction was determined to let the light in. They wanted to be seen and heard and to tell their own story. Which they are still doing until this day. And that's exactly what Narnia intends to keep doing.

 

It's best you know what you don't
Aperture lets the light in….

It finally appears it's only love

Playlist:    Aperture – Harry Styles

                 Paint by Numbers - Harry Styles

                 Barracuda - Heart 

                Send Me Under - Louis Tomlinson

Sources: Red Nose Charity-Comic Relief, Tumblr, Twitter, X Factor, ITV, BBC, Help for Heroes Charity, Pokémon, Getty Images, Fat Friends, Evening Standard, Shout for England – FIFA World Cup (2010), Sugarscape - Pokémon Interview, www.express.co.uk