Quotes from Luke Hemmings

You know what, if you play 'She Looks So Perfect' backwards... you just listen to it.

At primary school I was in a world of my own and often I would get told off for being too loud, Then when I was around six, I woudn't go to class. I would be in school , but running around the playground having a great time while everyone else was in lessons.

When you're 16 you write about different things to when you're 21 and have fallen out of love and been on the road for six years and have a house.

Seven years as a band may seem like a long time, but we were teenagers when we started.

It wasn't our favourite place, where we grew up.

For a band to make it to four albums is no small feat in itself.

I had the Foo Fighters' 'Live at Hyde Park' DVD, and my dad had the AC/DC box set, and I used to watch them all the time.

Time just gets away from you so quickly. And there's these moments that will never come around again. And there's something so terrifying, but also so beautiful about that.

A lot of bands have to change what they sound like, but we are exactly the band that we want to be: a pop band, definitely, but we've got a rock and punk edge.

I love the spirit of early pop punk and we incorporated that into our earlier albums.

We have this determination to keep going and keep pushing ourselves creatively.

I dress in clothing that makes me happy, I make the music I want, I wear glitter and make-up, I express myself better, I don't feel boxed in. It's pretty freeing.

I've made an effort to spend as little time as possible looking at screens of any type, I don't think humans were meant to have access to every opinion about themselves at their fingertips constantly, both good and bad.

You've got to be this massive entity on stage, and just bring people in and make them have a good time.

I've always felt like writing and creating music is similar to therapy, because you're spending days, weeks, months reflecting on yourself and your life and trying to process everything and express those feelings out loud. It can be incredibly cathartic and healing.

I would ban guns in the States. It's just such an epidemic that's been happening for so long.

I think on stage I would like a cheeseburger to be thrown at me.

I think as a teen who was thrust into the public eye pretty quickly, I got overwhelmed easily and felt constant pressure to be a certain type of person.

I reckon people's attitude to us is a challenge that motivates you to show them what this band can do.

When we first started as a band we knew we could all sing and we took harmonies from Mayday Parade which doesn't seem like a good harmony reference but it was for us. We wanted to take harmonies from Mayday Parade and be a guitar playing band.

There are a lot of people in the industry and stuff who said no we don't want to sign a guitar band, that's not working. But people had faith in us and our vision and got behind us with their heart and soul.

Coming home is what helps keep us sane.

I think at the start of writing it was less intense topics, and then once I broke the seal I was more comfortable writing about harder things, and going through family history.

We decided to self-title it '5 Seconds of Summer' because it really represents who we are and who we want to be as a band. Working on the different songs - writing, recording and watching them all come together - has been one of the most incredible experiences we've had as musicians and we are so proud of how it has turned out.