As he turns 30 on 1 February, we take a look at how Harry Styles has grown into a global superstar, with critically acclaimed records, an army of diehard fans and tours that sell out in minutes
WORDS: SARAH TULLOCH
Harry’s fans were in meltdown. On 25 March 2017, nearly 20 months after One Direction announced their “indefinite hiatus”, the singer had teased his debut solo single with a cryptic TV advert during the semi-final episode of ITV’s The Voice. Moments earlier, he’d mysteriously posted a trio of blank white squares on Instagram, amassing more than a million likes in the space of an hour.
“Harry Styles bouta make the whole world busta nut,” said one enthusiastic devotee on Twitter, while another wrote, “U know when Harry Styles posts three blank pics on Insta s**t is about to go down.”
They had to wait just days to see what their idol had come up with. Sign Of The Times premiered during Harry’s pal Nick Grimshaw’s BBC Radio 1 breakfast show on 7 April, instantly drawing comparisons between the X Factor star and David Bowie.
DAZZLING DEBUT ALBUM
A self-titled debut album followed just a month later, to generally strong reviews. Writing for Rolling Stone, contributing editor Rob Sheffield gushed, “On his superb solo debut, the One Direction heartthrob claims his turf as a true rock’n’roll prince, a sunshine superman, a cosmic dancer in touch with his introspective acoustic side as well as his glam flash.
“He avoids the celebrity-guest debutante ball he could have thrown himself – instead, he goes for an intimately emotional 70s soft-rock vibe. No club-hopping or bottles popping – it’s the after-hours balladry of a 23-year-old star wondering why he spends so much time in lonely hotel rooms staring at his phone.”
Music journalist and former editor of Melody Maker, Mark Sutherland, explains what a coup it was for Harry to be recognised in this way, having seen so many girl or boyband members quit their groups, yet fall at the first hurdle in their bid to launch successful solo careers.
“The thing about bands is that they’re usually greater than the sum of their parts,” he says. “When you break off from that, sometimes it can really work. You can move away and establish your own identity – if you look at Robbie Williams, perhaps – but generally it’s much harder to do that.
“Although you already have a massive platform and
