One Direction (or 1D if you’re running short on time!) are one of THE most successful boy bands, EVER. They first appeared on the scene in 2010, and took a hiatus in 2016 – giving us six awesome years of music! If you’re a superfan you probably know a few of the basics already – but there might be something here that you never knew! Learn all about the boys with these thirty fascinating facts! And if you’re a 1D superfan, we’ve got so much more for you! Try our One Direction trivia quiz, learn all about Harry Styles, or have a laugh with some 1D jokes!

1. There’s five of them!

One Direction was originally five members strong – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik. Zayn left the band in 2015 to pursue his own career, so technically they’re down to four – but they first shot to fame as the Fab Five!

2. They got their start on the X-Factor

The boys all auditioned as solo candidates on The X-Factor in the 2010 series! They didn’t make it as solo entrants, but were put together as a band and entered into the groups category! They only came third in the competition, but more than made up for it with the fame they achieved afterwards!

3. They only have three starsigns between them!

Liam and Niall are both Virgos, and Zayn and Louis are both Capricorns – but Harry stands solo as an Aquarius!

4. Liam and Niall have the same middle name

Another coincidence – Liam and Niall both have James as a middle name! It’s like they were meant to perform together!

5. There’s some dispute over whose idea they were

X-Factor judges Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger both claimed to have come up with the idea of putting the boys together to form One Direction – Simon Cowell said it took him only ten minutes to put them together. A video released in 2022 seems to prove that Nicole Scherzinger was actually the mastermind behind the band!

6. They were almost called something different

Liam Payne’s dad had a different suggestion for the band’s name – USP, which is short for Unique Selling Point. Probably a good thing they didn’t go with it!

7. Harry Styles came up with the band name

Harry says the name doesn’t really mean anything in particular, but he thinks it sounds cool.

8. They’re a British success story

One Direction’s debut album “Up All Night” made them the first UK-based group to debut at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart – that’s REALLY impressive! The album sold more than 176,000 copies within minutes of coming out!

9. Zayn never flew on a plane before One Direction!

The first time Zayn ever got on a plane was with his new bandmates – and Louis made it worse! Zayn said in an interview that Louis told him the plane would do a loop-the-loop when it set off, and he spent twenty minutes terrified!

10. They had code words to get out of boring meetings

1D had to do a lot of press, which involves long days of interviews and photoshoots. Liam says that when the boys didn’t want to go somewhere they would share a code word, then all fall on the floor and wait until everyone went away!

11. They have matching tattoos!

All the boys except Niall got crosses tattooed on their ankles – and Louis and Zayn also got tattoos of their tour bus! Niall still has no tattoos – the only band member without them!

12. They’ve played themselves on TV!

In their early days One Direction all appeared on an episode of iCarly called iGo One Direction! In the episode Harry gets a fake disease called jungle worms and Carly has to look after him! They also appeared as themselves (minus Zayn) in an episode of Family Guy.

13. They have dolls!

There is so much One Direction merch you could never dream of owning it all – bags, duvet covers, toothbrushes, you name it! One amazing piece of merch was the One Direction dolls made by Hasbro – they sold out super quick!

14. …and perfume!

The must-have celebrity merchandise is a fragrance line, and 1D produced four fragrances in total!

15. They’re BFFs with James Corden

James Corden met the boys early in their career and became friends with them! Louis once called him the band’s mentor; and Louis, Niall and Harry even went to James’ wedding. Most famously though they appeared in Carpool Karaoke, in the most-watched episode ever!

16. Ed Sheeran wrote for them!

Ed’s a top songwriter, not just a singer and musician! He wrote the song “18” especially for them, but some other hits (“Moments”, “Little Things”, “Over Again”) were originally written for his own albums! Harry and Ed are close friends – they even have matching tattoos!

17. Louis was their driver

One thing about 1D music videos you’ll never unsee – whenever the boys are in a car, Louis is always the one driving! Liam pointed this out in an interview – none of the others got to drive, although they did all ride on motorized scooters in the “Midnight Memories” video!

18. They had the number one album of 2013

Midnight Memories wasn’t released until November, but it sold 4 million copies, making it the number one album of 2013! Now THAT’S impressive!

19. They have some interesting pre-show rituals

The boys love to scoff Haribo before they do a show! They say it gives them courage and good luck.

20. They got on the wrong side of Donald Trump

There are a couple of versions of this story, but basically: 1D were staying at a Trump hotel in 2012, and after refusing a request from him they weren’t allowed to use the hotel garage. This caused a safety issue and the band had to leave. They either wouldn’t meet Trump’s daughter, or they refused to take a picture with his lawyer’s daughter. Apparently the request came in the middle of the night when the band were all sleeping – pretty reasonable to say no!

21. Midnight Memories is about chicken

Liam and Louis wrote “Midnight Memories” about KFC, and they wanted the chorus to be “I love KFC.” Hey, we could probably write a love song for fried chicken too!

22. They have waxworks

1D were made into wax figures at Madame Tussauds, the first boyband to make it into the museum since The Beatles! After the band’s split in 2016, the waxworks were retired and are currently in the archive. Fans have been begging the museum to sell the figures to them!

23. They’re pranksters!

The One Direction boys absolutely love playing pranks on each other! Louis might be the biggest prankster of all – he pantsed his bandmates a LOT, and once left lemons in Niall’s shoes!

24. They have music you may never get to hear

According to an interview, 1D have written and recorded several tracks that have never been released and are currently sitting in the vault! Liam even has a tattoo with the lyrics of one of their unreleased singles, “Man on A Mission.”

25. They’ve broken records

One Direction broke a Guiness World Record as the music group with the most followers – over 30 million, even though they haven’t tweeted since 2020!

26. They love Pokémon!

In 2011, 1D were official brand ambassadors for the game Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. They even performed at the game’s launch party in London!

27. They’re worth a LOT

Back at the height of the popularity, if you wanted to hire One Direction for one night it would set you back a whopping £30,000!

28. They might have been VERY different

The 2010 round of The X-Factor wasn’t Liam’s first rodeo! He first appeared in the 2008 series, where he made it as far as the Judges’ Houses round. He went to Simon Cowell’s house in Barbados where he was eliminated as a contestant – hard for him at the time, but a good thing overall!

29. They love their tour bus

Remember the matching bus tattoo that Louis and Zayn have? There’s a reason for that – the boys much prefer sleeping in their tour bus over staying in hotels! It’s probably a lot more private if you’re super-famous!

30. They’re on permanent hiatus

Zayn left the band in 2015, cutting it down to just four members. In 2016 1D went on indefinite hiatus, with all four members going on to release their own solo albums. Still, who knows – maybe a reunion is coming up! There was reportedly a mini-reunion earlier this year between three members! And anyway – we’ve got all their old music to listen to!