Liam Payne: One Direction need a break

Liam Payne thinks One Direction ”needs a little bit of a break”.

The 21-year-old singer has hinted the band plan to take some time off following the release of their fifth studio album later this year.

He said: ”You know, I think everyone needs a little bit of a break now, and a sit down and a stop, to kind of take in all the great things that’ve happened.”

The news comes just two months after several publications reported the group – also featuring Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – would be taking some time away from the band, which Liam actively denied at the time.

He told BANG Showbiz: ”We won’t be going anywhere for a while, so I don’t know where that’s brewed from.”

But the ‘Steal My Girl’ hitmakers seem to have had a change of heart, and Liam – who is dating his childhood friend Sophia Smith – wants to write music for other artists and spend some time back at home.

Asked what he wants to do during their time off, he said: ”There’s loads of things. I’ve been writing a lot on the road at the moment, not for me, just for other people. I’ve been doing a lot of things, you know trying to get into the producing side of it which is pretty cool.

”I guess I’m going to go home and chill for a little bit. Everyone’s asking if I’m gonna go away on holiday, but I’ve been everywhere, so I kind of just wanna go home! I honestly do miss living in Wolverhampton.”

Nevertheless, the group – who premiered the first single ‘Drag Me Down’ from their fifth studio album last week – are excited for the release of their next LP, which they have only recently completed work on.

Liam told Free Radio host Adam Wilbourn: ”The album was recorded, we finished two days ago, which has taken like a month to record and a month or so to write.”