One Direction spokesman won't confirm hiatus report

LONDON - A spokesman for One Direction, which played in Chicago Sunday, has declined to comment on a report that the chart-topping boy band will take an indefinite break starting in March.

Publicist Simon Jones said he wouldn't comment on "speculation."

The Sun newspaper reported Monday that band members would go separate ways for at least a year after finishing a tour this autumn and promoting their fifth album.

One Direction formed in 2010 after five teenagers - Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik - auditioned individually for the British TV talent show "The X Factor." Simon Cowell had the idea of putting them together as a boy band, and they became one of Britain's most successful musical exports.

Speculation about a split grew after Malik quit the group earlier this year, but the other members said they planned to continue as a quartet.

One Direction is currently on the North American leg of a tour that is due to end Oct. 31 in Sheffield, England.