Taking a new direction... Scot who was nearly in 1D

THEY were the biggest boy band in the world, earning millions and dominating the charts.

But while One Direction made stars out of the five lads who formed the group, a young Scot missed out on fame and fortune by the skin of his teeth.

X-Factor contestant Garry Greig, 24, was crushed not to make the line-up of the boy band cut in 2010. He was one of eight singers on the show who were whittled down to the five – Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan – who formed 1D.

After missing out on the band, Mr Greig, of Fauldhouse, West Lothian, got a job as a window fabricator, but continued to pursue his singing career at night.

Now, seven years later, Mr Greig is having another shot at stardom by releasing his debut single, Hold On Me, on December 4. He said: ‘A lot of hard work has gone into it and I’m really happy with the result. Hopefully, this is the start of something big for me.’

He was always haunted by One Direction’s success. He said: ‘Now I get reminded of it every single day. One Direction will come on the radio and all the guys about me who know the story will all laugh and say, “And here you are making windows”. It’s good banter, to be honest.’

Mr Greig was 16 when he missed out on fame at the X-Factor in 2010. He said: ‘I shared a room with Niall Horan down at boot camp and he was totally cool and down to earth.’

He had no idea the group would rocket to fame so quickly, saying: ‘I was standing beside Harry when their names were called out. Niall wished me all the best and that was it. I was happy for them. None of us knew how big they were going to become.’