Cashing in on little girls' tears: JAN MOIR sees One Direction's last concert (T-shirts £25 a pop) and despairs at four multi-millionaires 

By Jan Moir for the Daily Mail

Published: 19:13 EST, 1 November 2015 | Updated: 05:21 EST, 2 November 2015

Can it be the end of the road for the biggest boy band in the world? Is it really the end? Please don’t say it’s the end, it can’t be the end! Shriek, scream. Hold me.

Over the past few weeks, popsters-on-the-brink One Direction have been carefully telling their fans that they are not splitting up, merely taking an ‘extended break’ from each other to pursue solo projects.

Oh really? This is the kind of thing warring showbiz couples usually say before slugging it out in the divorce courts amid acrimony and a blizzard of hate.

Can it be the end of the road for the biggest boy band in the world? Is it really the end? Please don’t say it’s the end, it can’t be the end! Shriek, scream. Hold me, writes JAN MOIR (pictured: 1D fans cry on Saturday night)

Over the past few weeks, popsters-on-the-brink One Direction (pictured) have been carefully telling their fans that they are not splitting up, merely taking an ‘extended break’ from each other to pursue solo projects

Over the past few weeks, popsters-on-the-brink One Direction (pictured) have been carefully telling their fans that they are not splitting up, merely taking an ‘extended break’ from each other to pursue solo projects

Before fighting to the bitter end over the last sixpence and who gets custody of the pet pugs.

If you have a teenage or pre-teen daughter or granddaughter, let’s just say that the death of this particular group is likely to cause an outpouring of grief akin to the national mourning when Churchill died.

Except instead of cranes being dipped at the funeral, it would be a million glowing iPhones lowered to half-mast, taking selfies as the cortege went by.

Certainly there were plenty of overwhelmed girls clutching each other and sobbing at what might well be the band’s last ever concert — in Sheffield on Saturday night — though that might have had something to do with the prices at the merchandising stall, where T-shirts were selling at £25 a time.

The cracks began to show earlier this year when One Directioner Zayn Malik, 22, abruptly quit the band, saying he wanted a ‘normal’ life. 

Remaining members Liam Payne, 22, Harry Styles, 21, Niall Horan, 22, and Louis Tomlinson, 23, appeared on stage at the weekend, on the last night of a gruelling world tour that saw them play more than 80 dates in 20 countries. 

See more of the latest news and updates from One Direction's last concert 

If you have a teenage or pre-teen daughter or granddaughter, let’s just say that the death of this particular group is likely to cause an outpouring of grief akin to the national mourning when Churchill died

At the end of the concert, the four remaining members of One Direction slipped their arms around each other’s shoulders in a show of unity 

At the end of the concert, the four remaining members of One Direction slipped their arms around each other’s shoulders in a show of unity 

After rumoured backstage tensions and a last minute no-show at a gig in Belfast, they were clearly clinging on by their fingertips.

I was there for the sell-out show at the Motorpoint Arena, where band member Liam told the 14,000 crowd: ‘This is the end of the On The Road Again Tour, not the end of One Direction.’

‘Please don’t forget us,’ heart-throb Harry begged their screaming and sobbing followers. ‘We will always be here for you, you guys are the most incredible fans.’

Well they would say that, wouldn’t they?

Not only have the group just released a new album in time for the Christmas market, shops are also full of their One Direction merchandise, while their official website groans with branded keyrings, mugs, lampshades, T-shirts and hats.

The immediate end of the group means the end of this lucrative revenue stream and, clearly, they don’t want to turn off the tap just yet.

This is despite allegations that various factions within the group are barely on speaking terms, with Harry and Louis in particular locked into a mutual dislike so ferocious that they refuse to travel on the same private jet (as you do).

Although they clasped each other in a showy hug at the end of Saturday’s concert, they studiously ignored each other for the previous hour and a half. 

Certainly there were plenty of overwhelmed girls clutching each other and sobbing at what might well be the band’s last ever concert — in Sheffield on Saturday night — though that might have had something to do with the prices at the merchandising stall, where T-shirts were selling at £25 a time

Certainly there were plenty of overwhelmed girls clutching each other and sobbing at what might well be the band’s last ever concert — in Sheffield on Saturday night — though that might have had something to do with the prices at the merchandising stall, where T-shirts were selling at £25 a time

Their body language screams of deep freeze emotions and Arctic sulks.

Which is a shame. Four years ago, I saw the band perform in America when they were as enthusiastic and happy as gambolling puppies.

Then, every expense was spared. Their only stage decoration was a blackcloth with their name stencilled on it in white letters. 

A roadie placed a bottle of water next to their individual mic stands. They sang to a backing track while teenybopper fans screamed so loudly it was like having hot needles shoved inside your ear canal.

Certainly, the fans in Sheffield couldn’t bear to think it was the end. They came in their thousands and thousands, streaming into the Sheffield Arena on a mild, October evening, saucer-eyed with delight

Certainly, the fans in Sheffield couldn’t bear to think it was the end. They came in their thousands and thousands, streaming into the Sheffield Arena on a mild, October evening, saucer-eyed with delight

Up on stage in Sheffield, under a bank of expensive golden lights and accompanied by a slick backing band, the opulent gloss that now accompanies them could not paper over the pain.

1D looked smart and groomed, their assorted hairstyles quiffed and gelled into glossy peaks. 

They played for 90 minutes, a professional and brisk trot through their hit parade to date. 

Yet there were times when you could see they wore the distant expressions of men who had travelled to faraway lands and been scarred by what they had seen.

They rarely interact with each other and instead perform as individuals, each thanking their own far base for their own support.

And while fans might have expected to see a spark of joy in their expressions, as the group reached this incredible milestone in their career, there was nothing. 

Up on the big screen you could see they were like dead-eyed zombies, going through the motions, clinging on until the curtain came down and they could be rid of each other.

They only perked up when the concert was nearly over and they could, as one of them said, ‘go off and get drunk’. 

Harry Styles in particular seems to be ostracised by the others; often downstage on his own, kicking his gold bootees in the air, throwing lavish kisses to the audience, dreaming of the future that awaits him with a solo career.

And it all started out so well. Since Simon Cowell put them together on The X Factor in 2010, they have gone on to become the most successful British group — although Niall is from Ireland — since The Beatles.

Part of their success is their good looks, their show of politesse and the fact that their carefully calibrated songs plug straight into the mainframe of adolescent angst. 

In hits such as What Makes You Beautiful, they sing lyrics every teenage girl longs to hear. ‘What makes you beautiful,’ they croon. ‘Is that you don’t know you are beautiful.’

Harry Styles in particular to be ostracised by the others; often downstage on his own, kicking his gold bootees in the air, throwing lavish kisses to the audience, dreaming of the future that awaits him with a solo career

Harry Styles in particular to be ostracised by the others; often downstage on his own, kicking his gold bootees in the air, throwing kisses to the audience, dreaming of the future that awaits him with a solo career

In the tuck shop of pop, bands don’t come any more manufactured. 

They went on to make a fortune for themselves and for Simon Cowell, even launching a little girly make-up range — a particularly cynical move. 

They were also one of the first bands to court their fans on social media, encouraging the notion that they were friends in it together — so long as they kept buying the Kiss You lipsticks and downloading the latest albums.

Cowell encouraged them to keep going, even as their fame grew and their lives became increasingly claustrophobic. ‘It’s not a prison,’ he would tell them — but clearly it was.

In an interview before this last show, Liam said: ‘Basically, we are all a mess. Now we all need to go away, become mad old recluses, then come back again with giant beards. That’s the plan.’

Certainly, the fans in Sheffield couldn’t bear to think it was the end. They came in their thousands and thousands, streaming into the Sheffield Arena on a mild, October evening, saucer-eyed with delight.

Up on the big screen you could see the band were like dead-eyed zombies, going through the motions, clinging on until the curtain came down and they could be rid of each other

Up on the big screen you could see the band were like dead-eyed zombies, going through the motions, clinging on until the curtain came down and they could be rid of each other

Some of them carried ‘I Love Harry’ posters, older girls went for more suggestive placards. 

As it was Halloween, many had dressed up for the occasion.

T here were lots of tiny witches, kittens with crayon whiskers, Snow Whites, killer nurses, clouds of purple hair.

Most of all there was a stadium full of little girls exploding with excitement like freshly detonated firecrackers. Many were wearing One Direction battery operated luminous hair bows (£8).

In the darkened auditorium it looked as if there were thousands and thousands of wriggling glow-worms, a fiesta of light and love beaming onto the stage.

Nine-year-old Katie Simpson, from Harrogate, said Niall was her favourite and that she had loved the band for ‘quite a long time’.

Her mother Alex, an administrator at a grammar school, had paid more than £360 for their seats from a secondary ticket agency.

‘It is an early Christmas present,’ she told me, in the merchandising queue, where she was presumably waiting to spend more money.

Distraught One Direction fans weep as they leave what could be the band's last ever concert

Lilia Ramsey, 11, from Sheffield, was ‘a little bit sad’ because this could be their last gig.

Her mother Nicole had paid £120 for their tickets, plus a £6 parking fee.

They had bought a £7 programme and had a budget of £20 for the merchandising shop.

Older fans Jade Vermont, 19, Toni Marie, 17, and Kira Wole, 19, had been with the band from the beginning and liked them because ‘they are fit, different and a laugh’.

They estimated they had spent more than £2,000 each during their five-year adoration. 

So how will they react if this really does prove to be the end of the road? ‘I don’t want to think about it,’ said Kira.

At the end of the concert, the four remaining members of One Direction slipped their arms around each other’s shoulders in a show of unity. 

Around the auditorium, the little illuminated bows wriggled with joy.

‘Scream like you mean it,’ said Liam. 

And then they vanished into the darkness of the stage, a pop whirlwind that might just have blown itself out for good. 

Or at least until the money runs low.

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