Entertainment

One Direction Drummer Josh Devine Talks About Life During The Hiatus

by Lydia Mansel
Josh Devine

There is no need to describe the incredible influence and massive reach of One Direction.

Ever since Simon Cowell took Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik under his wing in 2010, people from around the world have clamored for the boy band's music and followed their every move.

Elite Daily spoke with Josh Devine, the band's drummer, who knows this better than anyone. For the last five years, he's traveled the world with the famous band, playing drums for sold-out stadiums and concert venues -- an experience Josh describes as "the best thing in the world."

But in August 2015, just months after Zayn Malik left the band, it was announced One Direction would officially be on a "hiatus" starting in March 2016.

Although rumors have circulated about whether or not this is a permanent break, there remains one question: What's next?

Zayn took on a solo music career. Harry started acting. Louis has been spending time with his son, Freddie. Niall has been heavily involved in golf and charity events, and Liam has been immersed in his relationship with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.

As for Josh Devine? His plans involve more music and doing what he can to give back, the later of which he's doing with Food for the Hungry (FH), a nonprofit organization that aims to end world hunger.

In March, Josh visited Rwanda to meet Evaride, the child he personally sponsors through FH. His journey was documented as the first part of the documentary series "The Hardest Places." This video will be used in a full social media campaign to raise money and awareness for FH.

When asked about why he wanted to be a part of FH, Josh said,

There must be more I can do than just giving money to a family. I have this huge social network that I've acquired over the last five years playing for arguably one of the biggest bands ever. Why not try to use it to do something positive and hopefully... impact more than just my own life?

"Huge social network" might be an understatement. Josh currently has well over 3 million followers on Twitter, and he's active across multiple social platforms.

This loyal fan base is something Josh doesn't take for granted. He noted,

I'm constantly trying to connect with fans... they're a very passionate bunch of people. When there's something very strongly they believe in or if there's something... a message they want to get across, they'll make sure everyone in the world sees what they have to say.

Fans of Josh are likely familiar with the charity work One Direction took part in with Comic Relief, and it was certainly memorable for Josh as well.

He explained,

I saw it from their point of view, how they changed... I noticed a distinct change in them as well when they came back, when they were talking about this, the way it changed them as people. And they genuinely cared... they came back moved and changed from this whole experience. To me, I felt like that spoke volumes. If you're in it for the wrong reasons, if you're in it to to gain some sort of recognition for doing a good thing... then it's not going to work. If you are actually passionate to make a change and to actually try to affect people's lives in a positive way, I feel like that's one of the greatest things you could possibly do. I learned that from them, and hopefully, that'll come across in the video.

Although he's finished touring with the boy band for now and his work with FH "will take precedence," Josh still has time for his other passion, saying,

I'm still constantly doing music. Music will come first and foremost career-wise. Career-wise, I'll still always be playing drums.

And, if you were wondering, Josh still keeps in touch with the band. He said,

I saw Niall not too long ago at Sandy our bass player's wedding. It was nice; I hadn't seen him for a while. It was great to have a good catch-up. I'm sure over the next little bit... I'll see them every so often as well.

Once Josh finishes up the FH campaign, will we see him back on tour with 1D?

Well, we'll see if the group ever reunites, but Josh would definitely be up for it, saying,

Oh yeah, I've loved the last five years. It's been the biggest roller coaster, so yeah, I'd love to do it again.

Sounds good. Let's make it happen.

To find out more about Josh's work with Food for the Hungry, you can go here.