One Direction’s Drummer Josh Devine Launches New Single, Will He Still Be There When 1D Returns?

One Direction’s fate remains a mystery, but the band’s live drummer, Josh Devine, is unstoppable from making the most out of the hiatus. Josh recently launched the single, “Never Fade,” that was inspired by the death of a close friend.

He collaborated with songwriter and producer Ollie Green for the emotional track. Ollie has created various remixes for Lady Gaga and Carly Rae Jepsen. In 2015, the duo also worked on Josh’s debut single “Through the Fire.” Josh told Billboard that writing the lines of “Never Fade” came naturally because they both recognized loss.

“The writing process for ‘Never Fade’ for me was heavily influenced by the death of my close friend. Ollie had the idea to write a song about missing someone, and I have wanted to write a song about the passing of my friend for a while, it was just the perfect time. It wrote itself, the lyrics just came so naturally to us, it was heartfelt and we both knew exactly what direction it was going from the start.”

For Josh, the song encapsulates the feelings he came across while accepting the departure of his friend. “The sleepless nights hoping that he was somewhere out there listening, the missing, the questions, the pain, the hope and the memories that will never fade,” he explained.

Josh has been a musician since he was 3 years old. Apart from singing and working magic with his drums, he also knows how to play the piano, guitar, and bass. His father, a singer of his own band, was one of his influences. Josh took all the chances he could get to hone his skills.

His big break finally came in 2010 when he received a call from Chris Leonard who co-wrote Ed Sheeran’s “Lego House.” Josh recalled that he was asked if he wanted to play for a “new boy band who had just come off a TV thing.”

The young musician didn’t know that for the next five years, he’d join One Direction in hundreds of live performances across the globe. Last year, when he released “Through the Fire,” he also told Billboard that it was fun to create his own music. He also said that it’s his dream for another artist to bring life to the songs that he penned.

“It’d be cool, doing my own music, instead of being in the background sort of playing other people’s music — which I love. But it’d be cool to see music that I’ve written sung back to us. That’d be the dream.”

Whenever Josh writes music, his aim is to come up with a positive and uplifting message. The kind of music “that makes you feel good about yourself and makes you feel good about the world around you.” Despite amassing millions of followers both on Twitter and Instagram, Josh claims that he tries to stay as down-to-earth as possible.

The One Direction boys have always been vocal about their friendship with their backing band. In the boys’ This is Us film, Louis Tomlinson is thankful that they get to tour the world with guys their age who they treat as family members.

Last year, Josh also talked about One Direction’s plan to go on break. He told Entertainment Weekly that they weren’t shocked because the boys definitely need to rest and “live a bit more of a free life.” When asked if he’d still be there should One Direction return, Josh said that he would never give up his job.

“I’d never say no, but it just completely depends on where I’m at in my own life and what the situation is. But yeah, I’d absolutely, 100 percent, never give up this job. I absolutely love it.”

While he cannot say the same for the other members of the backing band especially now that bass guitarist Sandy Beales just got married, Josh knows that they wouldn’t turn down “the offer of a lifetime” to play again with 1D.

[Image via Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]