Liam Payne admits it was ‘touch and go’ and he was ‘losing the plot’ as he battled alcohol issues in One Direction

LIAM Payne has revealed it was 'touch and go' and he was 'losing the plot' as he battled alcohol issues while in One Direction.

The 26-year-old singer was just 17 when he first found fame with the boy band after forming on the 2010 series of The X Factor.

The group - which also consisted of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik - went on to achieve global domination but in a new interview, Liam has admitted it came with a number of downsides.

Speaking to , he revealed he would take an epilepsy drug as a mood stabiliser to deal with the 'erratic highs and lows' of being in the most famous boy band in the world.

He explained: "I just needed a little bit of help to keep me stable – but under certain lights on stage or during interviews, I wouldn’t be able to tell them my name."

On top of that, Liam turned to alcohol during the many hours between shows when the band were often cooped up in their hotel and unable to leave because of the masses of fans camped outside.

He said: "Doing a show to however many thousands of people, then being stuck by yourself in a country where you can't go out anywhere - what else are you going to do? The minibar is always there."

After Zayn left the band in March 2015, Liam said it was "touch and go" for the rest of them.

He said: "It was a point where every day, you didn’t know whether it was going to be the end.

“It was so touch and go, at every single show. I was slowly losing the plot.”

The remaining four members decided to go on an 'indefinite hiatus' in 2016.

Liam added: "I was like: ‘I don’t really know how to deal with this’. Once you start, you can’t really press the stop button.”

Since One Direction went on hiatus, Liam has embarked on a solo career, and is gearing up to release his first album.

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