Could One Direction have reunited?

One Direction fans have been left shocked and devastated by the death of Liam Payne after he fell from a hotel balcony in Argentina on 16 October.

His former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik have offered tributes to their friend, with a statement signed by the band reading: "We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. For now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly."

The band's dedicated fans had been hoping for a reunion ever since One Direction went on hiatus in 2015, after Malik had quit the group earlier that year.

It was a constant question that the stars faced over the past nine years - here's what each of them had to say about a possible reunion.

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Liam Payne

Payne had been visiting Buenos Aires with girlfriend Kate Cassidy in the days before his death, where they took in Niall Horan's concert and sang along to his hits.

After learning of Payne's death, his friend and former SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton told Australia's The Morning Show: "There was talk always of getting the boy band back together and when there was talk of that he lit up, his face lit up - that really was his belonging and I believe his safe haven."

Entertainment reporter Dan Wootton also shared a conversation he'd had with Payne about a One Direction reunion as he reacted to the singer's death.

Wootton wrote: "He insisted to me: 'I know it’s a definite thing that will happen. I’ve got a weird feeling it might be sooner than we think.'"

He added that Payne had said: "It could be a really, really great show – we can each go out and do our own thing and then come back together. We saw that at Take That shows with Robbie Williams – it’s like five concerts in one. We could feature two people doing one song and two doing something different. Whether those things happen is completely up to everybody else. I’m proud of everything we’re doing."

Payne had made similar comments to Nick Grimshaw on the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in April 2018: "This is the only way One Direction could get any bigger than it was. These next couple years, if we do well in our solo careers, imagine the concert of five massive solo artists coming together and doing their own thing. You’ll get five concerts in one! It will be amazing...Patience is key. It will be all worth while for the viewers and people who are massive fans later on. It’s going to be even better for you than expected so just hold tight."

In 2020, Payne had repeatedly hinted that the boys could get back together for their 10th anniversary after forming on 2010's X Factor, although it never happened.

He told MTV News in May 2020: "I think we match each other for excitement. Where we left off with the band, we had just finished an album and we didn’t get to tour it so there’s always been that little thing that’s been missing from it. Everyone I’ve spoken to, we always get onto the topic of the reunion at some point, it’s not like anyone is trying to dodge it, it’s just a matter of when."

Harry Styles

Since the band split, Styles has enjoyed by far the most successful solo career - but had always refused to rule out a One Direction comeback.

Talking to pal James Corden on The Late Late Show in April 2023, Styles said of a reunion: "I would never say never to that. If there was a time where we all felt like that was what we wanted to do, I don’t see why we wouldn’t."

He also told the Spout podcast in June 2022: "I mean I think the thought of it is really nice, I’d love for there to be a time where it felt like something we all wanted to do...I think we all went through something really special together and there’s a lot of love there. So, yeah, I think if there’s a moment for us to do it the right way, I think it’d be great."

Niall Horan

There have been mixed signals from Horan over whether he thought a reunion was possible - at times, he has made it sound like a definite, but in other interviews he has shut down speculation.

In a chat with Apple Music, Horan said: "It’s just like the conversation hasn’t happened. It’s a great legacy to have. No, I don’t think [asking about the reunion] sucks the air out the room. It’s more, the answer’s still the same. The conversation hasn’t happened.

"We speak regularly, but that conversation hasn’t happened. God knows whether it ends up being - it could be like the Friends reunion, it could be a whole tour. God knows what it is, but no, it hasn’t been spoken about."

Sounding more definite in February 2020, he told RTE: "We’d be absolutely ridiculous not to reform the band. We haven’t really spoken about the whens, but we know we will. We have all said individually that we will and I think it would be stupid if we didn’t."

However, by June 2021 Horan told The Jonathan Ross Show: "No one really talks about [a reunion]. If everyone wanted to do it, I’d be down for it. They’re probably slim right now, currently. We need to all get in the same room and have a chat. I don’t know when that would be.

"Unless everyone was completely in, I wouldn’t want to do it. I wouldn’t want to force someone into doing it."

Louis Tomlinson

Of all the former bandmates, Tomlinson has seemed the keenest to reform, admitting that he wasn't ready for the split.

In 2019, he shared with Metro: "I wasn’t really ready for the band to go on a break. As far as I am concerned, I am happy doing what I am doing. But the day that [a reunion] does happen, and everyone is ready to do it, I am ready."

Tomlinson gave further hope to fans in a chat with Lorraine in September 2022, saying: "One day, there’s a lot of moving parts but it would be a shame if we didn’t. I hope so."

But a couple of months later, he told The Telegraph: "When you look at it on paper, it’s like, ‘How the f***’s it all gonna fit back together?’ We’re all making very different music, doing our own thing, all busy all the time. So I don’t see anything happening for at least another 10 years, but you never know. It looks pretty jumbled. But I think there is a world where it all kind of fits together."

In February 2023, Tomlinson poignantly told The Times: "Getting back together at some point is hard to imagine right now. But I’d be surprised if we lived out our lives and didn’t have a moment where we had a reunion, or whatever you want to call it. I’d be up for that."

Zayn Malik

Malik was always the least likely of the original bandmates to agree to a reunion, having quit the group in 2015 with rumours of some animosity from his co-stars over his decision.

He had said at the time that he wanted to be "a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight", but later claimed he had not been given any room to experiment musically.

In an Apple Music interview he said: "I think I always wanted to go, from like the first year." He added: "I never really wanted to be there, like in the band. I just gave it a go because it was there at the time...I instantly realised it wasn't for me, because I realised I couldn't put any input in."

However, Malik ignited a glimmer of hope for fans in 2022 with a series of social media posts offering new takes on One Direction songs.

Simon Cowell

The band's former manager, who put them together on The X Factor, had recently told Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, that he doubted there would be a reunion, but revealed it was something they had planned the possibility of since their early days.

He said: "When I was talking to One Direction, I remember saying to them, ‘Our goal is for you to have enough hits that if you ever reform, that you can do stadium tours. That means you've got to have about 10 hit singles'."