I watched as rivalry, hatred and drugs tore 1D apart
Dan Wootton on downfall of the world’s biggest boyband
WHEN One Direction leave the stage after their final full gig at Sheffield’s anything-but-glamorous Motorpoint Arena tonight, Simon Cowell will breathe a sigh of relief.
The tight-knit team around the world’s biggest band have been able to keep a lid on the tensions and personal animosities within 1D for the last three years — but only just.
Plucked from obscurity on The X Factor in 2010 and forced to work together, Liam Payne, 22, Harry Styles, 21, Niall Horan, 22, Louis Tomlinson, 23, and the now departed Zayn Malik, 22, were briefly best of friends, striving towards the common goal of becoming incredibly famous and even more rich.
Now for the first time The Sun reveals how bitter personal rivalries caused the fall of the biggest commercial band Britain has produced since The Beatles.
From day one I’ve been there to watch 1D’s unprecedented international success from behind the scenes — seeing first-hand how egos, temptations and a billion-pound business changed five ordinary young men with stars in their eyes.
The biggest issues in the band can be traced back over three years to an irreconcilable falling-out between their two most influential members, heart-throb Harry and highly-ambitious Louis.
While my Bizarre column has touched on the tension between the pair, the ferocity of their dislike has not been revealed until today.
The duo spent the first year of 1D’s success, when What Makes You Beautiful made them instant teen heart-throbs around the globe, living together in a rented £3million North London flat.
But by the start of 2012 they had abruptly moved out, their best friendship over, leaving them barely able to talk to each other unless for work purposes or in public.
A source close to the band revealed: “Apart from Harry and Louis, no one knows exactly what caused the falling out — they didn’t even tell the other boys the full details.
“But it was very serious and their friendship has never recovered. Everyone involved in the band is well aware of the animosity between them.
“It’s been central to everything else that came next with the band because there was suddenly a massive divide.”
Ironically a group of 1D fans around the globe passionately believe in “Larry Stylinson” — the idea that Louis and Harry are in a secret gay relationship.
They claim that everyone from Cowell to the band’s management company Modest and publicists HJPR to journalists like me have been part of a giant cover-up of the romance.
Given Louis and Harry spent a long time unable to even fly in the same private jet because of the hatred between them, that’s a laughable notion. And neither is gay.
A 1D insider added: “When the guys started making enough money, Harry insisted there were always two modes of transport, even when it came to private jets.
“The official reason given was that Harry didn’t like the fact Louis, Liam and Zayn smoked on board. But it was something much more personal.
“For the making of their last three albums, they never spent any time together in the studio as a band.
“That’s quite an extraordinary situation, but their team knew the less time Harry and Louis had to spend together, the better the chances 1D would stay together.”
The division resulted in Harry — an international superstar following his high profile romance with Taylor Swift later in 2012 — creating a new social circle, featuring many of the entertainment industry’s top movers and shakers.
His close friends also include Irving Azoff, the highly-regarded US music manager who’s been informally advising Harry on his future career.
And one of Harry’s closest mates, Radio 1 DJ and X Factor judge Nick Grimshaw, is also believed to have issues with Louis. The source said: “In the last two years, every decision Harry’s made is also with a thought about life after 1D and becoming a massive star in his own right.
“But he’s always played it very carefully as he never wanted to be the man who broke up the band.”
Meanwhile, Louis took control of 1D, making himself the band’s unofficial leader and regularly going into battle with their management and record company.
A source at music giant Sony said: “Frankly, Louis is a little s*** who’s managed to annoy a lot of people over the last couple of years.
“He’s made some ridiculous decisions, like refusing to let 1D perform at the Brit Awards because they wanted more time off.
“But he’s played a clever game as he surely knows he’s not the most talented member and doesn’t have a strong singing voice, so has set himself up as the business brains.
“He even managed to convince Cowell to give him his own record label at Syco to keep him happy.”
By the start of 2014, the band were struggling to cope with the intensity of their superstardom and things started to unravel as a result of their relentless touring schedule.
Drug use by Zayn — filmed smoking a joint on tour in South America — and by Louis also caused division within the band.
Emotionally volatile Liam’s drinking and partying was out of control, something he has now admitted. That caused further strains on the band as he has regularly questioned if he wants to stay in the public eye.
Harry would no longer go out with his bandmates to social events, unless hanging out with Irishman Niall, 1D’s unofficial peacekeeper.
I joined the band in Bogota, Colombia, as they launched their world tour and it was obvious Zayn was unhappy, barely uttering a word to his bandmates or 1D’s team.
But the touring was highly lucrative and the band’s moneymen appeared desperate to keep them performing to sold-out stadiums across the globe — putting them under further pressure by allowing them to record while on the road.
By this point they were each worth £25million and financially set up for life. A music source said: “It was relentless and asking for trouble. These guys were on a treadmill. They simply stopped enjoying it but were making too much money for anything to be done.”
Backstage at the historic Band Aid recording last November, the group looked miserable, with Harry hanging out with pals Grimmy and Ed Sheeran rather than bandmates.
Zayn eventually had enough. Amid rumours of physical confrontations backstage, he initially refused to travel to the US in the same month to promote their fourth album, with US TV host Matt Lauer going public with rumours of “substance abuse”.
He reluctantly rejoined the band, but four months later quit for good as he reacted against further revelations that he had cheated on then-fiancée Perrie Edwards of Little Mix, another Cowell creation.
The dream was over as fans learned for the first time that some members of 1D had gone from best mates to mere associates. A band insider said: “The other four have hardly spoken to Zayn since he left. Louis won’t forgive him for leaving.
“Liam and Louis are the only real friends left in the band. Niall likes everyone as that’s part of his happy-go-lucky persona.”
I’ve since learned Zayn is furious with the handling of his departure and believes he was seen as the fall guy for wider issues within 1D.
The source said: “Zayn didn’t want to be part of the 1D machine any more.
“He’s furious with the campaign the band’s team conducted because all he was doing was standing up for himself musically. He wanted the band to be real artists, not just money-makers.”
The other band members were angry with Zayn because he had gone against their secret plan to make five albums, release a greatest hits collection and then split for a period to work on solo projects.
A band insider said: “The others knew Zayn would have a head start by leaving first, like Robbie Williams did when he quit Take That.
“It was frustrating to them as Zayn only had to hang on in there a few months and 1D would have gone on their long break united.”
1D’s tour, the uninspiringly-titled On the Road Again, will end with a whimper tonight in Yorkshire.
Band insiders have told me that Liam Payne is at “breaking point” due to the relentless schedule — with a “backstage meltdown” causing the cancellation of a gig in Belfast earlier this month.
As he battled to save his relationship with Sophia Smith, Liam had also pulled out of the Attitude Awards hours before being due to accept a gong. He blamed sickness but he was spotted later that night in a local supermarket.
While Liam wants time out of the spotlight, Niall is desperate to continue working, but industry insiders doubt whether his singing voice is strong enough to launch a sustainable solo career.
I was shocked at 1D’s final date at London’s 02 Arena to see the band seemingly going through the motions. They performed as four individuals, not as a record-breaking group with millions of fans.
It’s hardly surprising that ticket sales are believed to have slowed, only picking up after I broke the story of the band’s break in August.
I’ve learned there are even tensions about when 1D will begin their break.
Harry wants them to start their “hiatus” — translation: a break that will become permanent if he is a solo success — by Christmas time. Louis is keen to continue on to next year’s Brit Awards.
A 1D source told me: “The band were furious with you for revealing the break as they didn’t want it to become a big deal, but the reality is they are splitting for a long time.
“Sure, they might get back together if things don’t work out for them individually.
“But that’s unlikely because the view is that Harry will become a massive star.”
“These days no band wants to officially split up because it costs them commercially. By going on a break they’ll still be able to keep selling merchandise.”
In fact, I’m told Sony bosses’ top priority is securing Harry to turn him into a solo superstar.
But dad-to-be Louis intends to stay in the spotlight by getting Cowell, whose company Syco has made more than £100million from the band, to agree to make him a judge on The X Factor next year.
That means the battle for power and influence between 1D’s former best friends will continue for another chapter . . .
A spokesman for Sony said: “Our priority is to make sure One Direction’s forthcoming album, Made In the AM, is as successful as possible.”
Rise and fall of 1D
JULY 2010: One Direction born after being put together on The X Factor
SEPTEMBER 2011: 1D score first No1 with debut What Makes You Beautiful
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ARLY 2012: Harry and Louis quit shared flat after fall-out
JANUARY 2013: The Sun reveals Zayn cheated on Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards
JANUARY 2014: Liam apologises over Sun pictures of him on a 360ft ledge
MAY 2014: Video of Louis and Zayn smoking cannabis in Peru emerges online
NOVEMBER
2014: Harry snubs bandmates at London Band Aid recording session.
MARCH 2015: Zayn quits 1D to be “normal 22-year-old” after abandoning world tour
AUGUST 2015: The Sun reveals 1D will go on extended hiatus
OCTOBER 2015: 1D’s first cancelled gig after Liam “meltdown” in Belfast