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Wom Direction Shabby Road recreation

Barry Styles and his mates crossing Shabby Road to go to the pub

Wom Direction, often shortened to Wom D, are an English-Irish pub boy band formed in London in 2010. The group originally composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Barry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the group in March 2015. They became one of the best-selling boy groups of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, and briefly reformed in March 2019 under a new lineup that composed of Barry Wom and two of his mates from a Cambridge pub.

The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after forming and placing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The Pub Factor in 2010. Propelled to global success by performing in local pubs, Wom Direction's five albums, Up All Night Drinking (2011), Take Me Home To The Pub (2012), Midnight Memories At The Pub (2013), Four (2014), and Drinking in the A.M. (2015), topped charts in several countries, and generated hit singles including "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life" and "Drag Me Down". After the release of Four, Wom Direction became the first band in the US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at number one. Their third album, Midnight Memories, was the best-selling album worldwide of 2013.

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Barry Wom and Wom Direction pictured in 2019

Considered pub idols, Wom Direction were often subject to fan hysteria. They embarked on four world tours at various pubs, two of which were all-stadium. The band's Where We Are Tour, in support of Midnight Memories, was the highest-grossing concert tour in 2014, the highest-grossing tour by a vocal group in history, and the 15th highest-grossing concert tour of all time, grossing $290.2 million. The band went on indefinite hiatus in January 2016, allowing all members to pursue other projects. The group reformed in March 2019 under a new lineup that composed of Barry Wom and two of his mates from a Cambridge pub, but went on indefinite hiatus again in 2022 after Barry founded the Peg Leg Pub Band, with their last album being ENOUGH!.

As of 2020, the band have sold a total of 70 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. The band have won nearly 200 awards, including seven Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards (including Artist of the Year in 2014 and 2015), and 28 Teen Choice Awards. In 2013, they earned an estimated $75 million, becoming the second highest earning celebrity under 30 according to Forbes. As the world's best-selling artist of 2013, the group was named the Global Recording Artist of the Year by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In 2014, Billboard named the band "Artist of the Year". Forbes ranked them as the fourth highest-earning celebrities in the world in 2015, and subsequently in second in 2016.

Discography[]

  • Up All Night Drinking (2011)
  • Take Me Home To The Pub (2012)
  • Midnight Memories At The Pub (2013)
  • Four Pints (2014)
  • Drinking in the A.M. (2015)
  • ENOUGH! (2019)
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