One Direction News
The On the Road Again Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by English-Irish boy band One Direction.[1] It promoted the band's fourth studio album, Four.[2] The tour began on 7 February 2015 in Sydney, Australia and ended on 31 October 2015 in Sheffield, England.[3] The majority of the tour were sold out, bringing in revenue of $280 million from 80 shows total.
During the tour, on 19 March 2015, it was announced that group member Zayn Malik would be taking a hiatus from the tour due to stress. Malik later announced his departure from the group six days later. His last performance with the group was the 18 March show in Hong Kong. The group continued performing on tour and began to release new material as a foursome. As of February 2016, this is the last tour the group have headlined due to their extended hiatus that began earlier in the year.
On the Road Again Tour
Background
The tour was announced on the Australian breakfast television program Today. The group will be making their debut performance in some countries on this tour. It was reported on 19 January 2015 that The X Factor 2012 winner Samantha Jade would be headlining the Australian leg alongside McBusted.[4]
On 19 March 2015, Zayn Malik announced his decision to exit the tour, citing "stress" as the reason behind his departure. A representative for the band said in a statement: "Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate".[5] Six days later, on 25 March, the band announced Malik's decision that he would permanently exit the group, citing his decision to live a "normal 22-year old life" and that the remaining members would continue on as a four-piece group. In a statement, they said: "We're really sad to see Zayn go, but we totally respect his decision and send him all our love for the future. The past five years have been beyond amazing, we've gone through so much together, so we will always be friends. The four of us will now continue. We're looking forward to recording the new album and seeing all the fans on the next stage of the world tour."[6]