Simon Cowell has revealed that Harry Styles called him recently to reminisce about the ‘great time’ they together had during the One Direction days.
The talent scout, 64, created the boy-band – made up of Harry, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson – in 2010 on ITV‘s The X Factor.
Simon spoke about his time managing the band and hailed its huge success when he appeared on Steven Bartlett‘s podcast Diary Of A CEO in June.
And his interview appeared to spark memories for Grammy-award winning Harry, 30, as Simon revealed to Hello! magazine this week that the singer rang him. ‘It was great to hear from him,’ Simon said. ‘He said listening to the podcast reminded him of what a great a time we had together.’
However it may not be all rosy between the talent coach and band members, after Louis and Niall unfollowed him on social media days after the interview – where he also expressed his biggest regret from managing the band.
Simon Cowell revealed to Hello! this week that Harry Styles called him recently to reminisce about the ‘great time’ he had during his One Direction days
Simon’s interview appeared to spark memories for Grammy-award winning artist Harry, as he revealed that the singer rang him (Pictured in February 2023)
Simon gushed over the Watermelon Sugar hitmaker, impressed by him taking the time to call despite his ever-skyrocketing fame.
‘I thought it said so much about him that he would bother to make that phone call,’ The X Factor judge added.
Simon signed One Direction to his label Syco Music after The X Factor wrapped and they went on to become one of the best selling boy-groups of all time.
However, in 2015 Zayn left to pursue solo music and the remaining members split for good a year later.
During the podcast, Simon revealed he regretted letting the band own the One Direction name – meaning he couldn’t continue its legacy after they broke up.
‘The one thing I regret is I should have owned the name,’ he said. ‘They own the name. I could have made an animation or something.
‘So if you’re listening One Direction then I will buy it back from you!’
Asked by Steven if the pop stars each owned 20 per cent of the name, Simon said he couldn’t recall the exact arrangement but that new content, such as movies or TV shows, relating to the band couldn’t be approved without consent from each member.
The talent scout, 64, created the boy-band – made up of Harry, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson, in 2010 on ITV’s The X Factor (Pictured in November 2010)
Simon gushed over the Watermelon Sugar hitmaker, impressed by him taking the time to call despite his ever-skyrocketing fame (Pictured in February 2023)
Simon revealed on the podcast on that his biggest regret from managing One Direction was that he never owned the name
Simon is set to create a new competition this year to find the next big boy-band as he feels none since have matched One Direction’s success.
And after admitting his regret regarding the One Direction name, he vowed not to make the same mistake again this time around.
He said: ‘That was me being very naive. Next time I need to own the name.’
But this may not have gone down well with some of the band members, as according to The Sun, Niall and Louis cut ties with their former boss just days after his interview aired.
MailOnline contacted Louis and Niall’s representatives for a comment at the time.
Simon also revealed the first piece of advice he gave to Harry, Zayn, Niall, Liam and Louis as they embarked on their success.
‘It was obvious as soon as they went on the show that they would be really really successful,’ he said. ‘They were the perfect group. They made a lot of money.
In 2015 Zayn left the band to pursue solo music and a year later the remaining members split for good (Pictured in November 2014)
‘I told them to never complain about paparazzi because they are going to take your pictures, don’t complain about invasion of privacy because people will always want to have a picture with you, don’t complain about the long hours.
‘I told them if any of the above is going to be a problem then do something else because all this will happen. I told them about the gruelling schedule – it comes with the territory. It just comes with it, you will lose a lot of privacy.’
He added: ‘If you want to be an accountant you won’t have any of these issues but it won’t be as fun.’