ONE DIRECTION | MUSIC PREVIEW
Brace yourself, Cardiff: the first weekend of June will need the city centre on lockdown. One Direction are coming!
Directioners from far and wide will descend on the Millennium Stadium on Fri 5 and Sat 6 June as the On The Road Again tour kicks off with two shows in Cardiff before the boys head out on a massive, sold-out 25-date UK and Ireland tour in September and October. Safe to say that the sudden departure of Zayn Malik is still a sore subject for many teenage fans, but it’s a given that the stadium will be jam-packed on both nights, giving fans the chance to see the band perform songs from their newest album FOUR for the first time alongside their ever-growing back catalogue of hits.
FOUR, released last November, is their biggest full-length yet – number one on the iTunes chart in 85 countries with sales of over two million in its first week. The album has also seen them make history by becoming the first ever act to debut at the top of the US Billboard charts with each of their first four albums.
In what has been a whirlwind few years for the band, coming in third place on The X Factor’s seventh series didn’t stand in the way of the group becoming arguably the world’s biggest pop act. With X Factor 2010 winner Matt Cardle in the industry wilderness and fellow finalists Cher Lloyd and Rebecca Ferguson popping up only sporadically in the charts, Harry, Louis, Niall and Liam have become the most successful act of that series, and one of the most successful exports in the history of X Factor UK.
Now one member down, the remaining quartet have vowed to continue and so long as they want to, you can’t see the 1D train derailing anytime soon. Zayn’s departure and the recurring rumour of a Harry Styles solo record keep stoking the fires, but nonetheless, one thing is clear: this teen-pop juggernaut will hit Cardiff all guns blazing with two incredible shows.
words OWEN SCOURFIELD
One Direction, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Fri 5 + Sat 6 June. Tickets: £37.50-£65 (Sat 6 sold out – check box office for returns). Info: 08442 777888 / www. millenniumstadium.com