One Direction got together in front of a number of ITV cameras during 2010’s version of The X Factor. After the five solo singers were pushed together by media mogul Simon Cowell, they came third in the competition, before hitting number one with their first single What Makes You Beautiful. Before long, they had a live gig lined up at the Watford Colosseum, and Niall Horan remembers it did not go well at all.
The Watford Colosseum holds 2,000 people, so it is certainly not the smallest venue a band or artist could start out on. Most pop acts would have been playing to a few dozen in a small club in the middle of nowhere. But One Direction had already claimed a UK number one and amassed countless followers over social media. Their popularity prompted a hefty gigging regime which they endured for years to come.
Although they had “spent weeks” rehearsing for their first-ever real-life gig, Horan says it was dreadful. He said: “Anything we rehearsed just went out the window. It was our first ever gig and we just didn’t know what the [expletive] was going on.” (Via BBC)
Niall continued: “We’ve refused to talk about it ever since. It was a disaster. We were just a joke.”
The Irish-born singer was just 17-years-old at the time, one of the oldest in the group. Watermelon Sugar hotshot Harry Styles would have been just 16-years-old. But despite the confidence the band had gained from being on prime-time TV weekly for the better part of six months, they were apparently not up to scratch for the gig.
Niall added: “I never want to talk about that gig again. Worst night of my life. The worst One Direction show ever.” Interestingly enough, not everyone thought the same.
READ MORE: One Direction: Harry Styles is ‘still a member of a punk band’
In 2014 One Direction won the MTV Europe Award for Best Live Act. A year later they won a Billboard Music Award for Top Touring Artist.
Their abilities on stage have even blossomed as solo stars, as each of the band members has gotten used to performing live alone since 1D split in 2015.
Harry alone has even won a few awards on his own, including a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance for Watermelon Sugar. The rest of the group has gone on tour for their solo acts.
Louis Tomlinson recently hit the stage for the first time in years.
This week Louis played a number of cities in the USA, including Dallas and St Lous. He followed up these shows with lots of praise on his Twitter account.
The 30-year-old wrote: “6 years since I’ve done an American tour show. Thank you for making it so incredible.” He followed it up by adding: “Felt overwhelmed with the passion. You are a different class. Best f*****g fans in the world!”
SOURCE