At this stage we all know that Zayn Malik felt hemmed in during his time in One Direction.

Having joined the group aged only 17, Zayn didn't even own a passport when Simon Cowell worked his magic and made him, Liam, Harry, Niall and Louis one of the biggest pop bands in living memory.

And while Zayn lapped it up at the beginning, he hasn't denied the fact that there came a point when he no longer wanted to conform to the boy band way of life, and eventually jumped ship.

And, sure, he's often cited the band's sound and image as something he railed against, but it turns out something even more pressing was weighing on his mind during his time with ID.

Zayn wanted to write about sex, and damn it, no one would let him.

Opening up about the barriers which restricted his creative process in his autobiography, the now 23-year-old explained that once he went solo he was able to write more sexy lyrics than you could shake a stick at.

"I was also able to sing about a subject that I hadn’t really been able to go near while I was in One Direction: sex," he explained.

“Every lyric I’ve ever written has a story behind it. All the hard work that went into the creation of Pillowtalk was worthwhile because, as soon as it was finished, I intuitively felt I was on the right path."

Thrilled by his debut single's performance, Zayn gushed: "It was a sick cut, nailing the exact sound I wanted to capture in my music."

Good man yourself, Zayn.