Tim: Oh Zayn.
Tim: A good article, worth a read, but first let’s all hear this again.
Tom: Good heavens, I hadn’t seen that video before. That’s an astonishing video for two reasons. First, the choice to make it first person, which must have set hearts a-flutter. But secondly: I’ve never seen a video so explicitly mark out the hierarchy of a band before. The board games and that jumper make it clear: if Niall had left, there wouldn’t be quite so many concerns about whether the band will make it to 2016.
Tim: You could be right – and that’s one of the reasons why on Friday afternoon, when the news finally hit me, I may or may not have had a listen to the acoustic version of this, tears silently rolling down my face, wondering whether things would ever truly be the same again.
Tom: Sorry, what?
Tim: Erm, yes, I’ll leave it to you to work out which elements of that sentence are true, but there’s no denying this is a pretty good track.
Tom: Right. Yes, and it’s a surprisingly “grown-up” track as well: there’s not much talk about “getting older” in songs aimed at teenagers.
Tim: It’s not the best boyband ballad – that title clearly goes to My Love – but there aren’t a huge many that better it, certainly not that acoustic version. You’ll be missed, Zayn, and not just because no-one else will be able to hit those high notes.