Brian McFadden Tells Zayn Malik To Quit Showbiz Industry

In what might sound like the ultimate put-down, former Westlife star, Brian McFadden, has told Zayn Malik that he should quit the music industry for good.

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But don’t worry, it wasn’t Brian giving a harsh review of Mind of Mine.

In fact, Uncle Bri, who has of course quit a world famous boyband himself, was giving Zayn some worldly advice about struggling with the pressures of fame.

Brian, who walked out on the Irish chart-toppers 12 years ago, told The Sunday People: “I know exactly what Zayn is going through, because I had similar problems.

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“But it’s only now, more than a decade later, that I can really understand what happened.

“We had it all – money, fame, beautiful women, amazing cars – but in the end it just wasn’t making me happy.

“At the end I found I was taking myself away from everyone. One day I just jumped on a plane to Australia without telling the others because I couldn’t stand any more.

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“I just told the tour manager, who was shocked and insisted we had promotional stuff to do, but I just couldn’t face it.

“The rest of the lads were annoyed, obviously, but I couldn’t explain how I was feeling and just heading off away made it easier.

“When I quit I felt like I was letting people down – but I just had to get out.”

Former One Direction star, Zayn, has spoken out publicly about his battle with anxiety after pulling out of a UK gig two weeks ago.

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Brian added: “In Westlife we were friends before we were famous, but I’m not sure One Direction were quite as close.

“Maybe they couldn’t lean on each the way we did and that might be part of why Zayn struggled to cope.

“After Westlife I struggled with stage fright myself. For years I was fine and then, out of nowhere, it just hit me.

“I don’t know what brought it on, but I just started to feel like everyone was looking at me everywhere I went and it made me very uncomfortable. My personal life was everywhere and it felt like people were judging me.

“For years I didn’t even carry a wallet or keys because literally everything is done for you. You find the only people around you are industry people and you can’t work out who is really trustworthy.

“I have never believed in therapists as such, but I managed to make one or two very good friends outside the industry and talked about all my problems.

“One worked in the oil business – we were in such different worlds that it really worked.

“They’re the people who helped me turn everything around. That’s probably what Zayn needs – ignore all the showbiz nonsense and find people who he can really trust.”