Niall Horan has said he was “afraid” to go out after being “chased” by fans while touring with One Direction.

The 29-year-old, who rose to fame alongside band members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik on the X Factor, told Cosmopolitan UK he “loved touring” with One Direction “but it was f***ing crazy”.

“We’d go to countries and never see a second of it – it was hotel, venue, plane, same again,” the Irish singer-songwriter said.

“We couldn’t get out the (hotel) door. If you went out in the car, you’d be seen and chased (by fans).

“I understand why it was going on, but it gave me a thing where, when I came back to London, I would be afraid to go out. There was a period where I actually couldn’t.”

The boy band was put on indefinite hiatus six years after it formed in 2010 and became one of the biggest pop groups in the world, with five albums and four world tours.

Horan, who has launched a solo career with hit songs Slow Hands and Heaven, said he is “excited” and “nervous” to be releasing his third album The Show.

“I hope I didn’t waste 18 months writing something for people not to like it… There’s no heartbreak stuff (on this album), so there needed to be a new concept,” he said.

“The only good part of the pandemic for me was that I was actually happy being still. I had time to breathe; I realised it doesn’t have to be a thousand miles an hour all the time.”

‘Diamond geezer’ Lewis Capaldi and a ‘token celebrity moment’ with Channing Tatum

Horan, who played for US President Joe Biden at the White House for St Patrick’s Day in March, also discussed his friendship with Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, who he called a “diamond geezer”.

“There’s not a bad bone in his body. He’s a solid friend, and he also happens to be one of the funniest f****** you’ve ever met in your life,” he said.

Horan also said “famous people” do not always know each other.

“You’re not friends with everyone in your office, are you? I remember seeing (Magic Mike actor) Channing Tatum on a plane.

“I’d never met the guy in real life, but he waved. We were laughing later. He was like: ‘I felt like I had to do the token celebrity to celebrity kind of moment’.”