Fans were left reeling last week when two members of globe-conquering boyband One Direction were caught on camera smoking (gasp!) cannabis. But Louis and Zayn aren’t the first teen poppers to shock their fresh-faced following:
Ain’t no party like an S Club 7 party
The all-singing, all-dancing, perma-smiling septet had a squeaky clean image until 2001, when the band’s three boys — Paul, Jon and Bradley — were arrested and cautioned for cannabis possession in Covent Garden. They were smoking a joint in the street when a passing police officer smelt it. Very One Direction. S Club 7 (later S Club) blazed a trail as well as blazin’ up.
Off-the-rails rating: 2/5
Oops, she did it again
Britney Spears was the bestselling teen artist of all time and undisputed Princess of Pop but gradually became a controversy magnet. In 2004, the ex-Mickey Mouse Clubber secretly married childhood sweetheart Jason Alexander in Las Vegas — annulled 55 hours later because Spears “lacked understanding of her actions”. She wed dancer Kevin Federline later the same year and it was all downhill from there.
Off-the-rails rating: 3/5
Justin Bieber: pint-sized diva
The bum-fluffed Canadian has gone from boy-next-door to bad boy. Last year’s UK tour was a carnival of controversy. He kept 20,000 fans and angry parents waiting for two hours — or was it 40 minutes? — before taking the O2 stage, way past most Beliebers’ bedtime. He then hit the town topless, wore a gas mask, collapsed onstage and threatened a paparazzo. Don’t get us started on the monkey or Anne Frank museum.
Off-the-rails rating: 4/5
Take That and party
Robbie Williams will feel the 1D duo’s pain. The youngest member of fanatically followed boyband Take That began boozing heavily and dabbling in cocaine before quitting in 1995. He promptly dyed his hair dirty blond and spent a lost weekend with Oasis at Glastonbury festival, before falling out with Liam Gallagher and being branded “a fat dancer” by Noel.
Off-the-rails rating: 4/5
Putting the E into E17
Baseball-capped crooner Brian Harvey was sacked from East 17 after condoning ecstasy use: “I’ve done 12 in one night It’s cool to take drugs. Ecstasy can make you a better person.” It led to the band’s split and a string of Harvey scandals, including a machete attack, alleged suicide attempts and a bizarre incident where he was crushed by his own Mercedes — which he blamed on eating three jacket potatoes.
Off-the-rails rating: 5/5
