Zayn Malik took inspiration from The Beatles for new album

Zayn Malik took inspiration from The Beatles and in particular, the late John Lennon, when creating his new album.

The former One Direction star is departing from his boyband roots with his debut solo album Mind of Mine, which has already spawned a number one in the shape of its R&B inflected lead single Pillowtalk.

However the singer drew on the work of The Beatles rocker John while writing the album, with the group's song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds inspiring one song, Fool For You in particular.

"I was listening to a lot of John Lennon the week I got that loop," Zayn tells Britain's NME magazine, referring to the psychedelic anthem. "And there was this one song I got addicted to, with Indian music at the front of it, sitar, and then it becomes, like, another song," he added.

Like The Beatles, who split in 1970, One Direction have also agreed to go their separate ways while still one of the world's most successful acts, albeit by going on hiatus rather than formally ending the group.

Zayn, who quit the band in March last year (15) admits that he hasn't remained close to his ex-bandmates since his departure but is still on friendly terms with Liam Payne.

"We talk on the phone," he says. "He (Liam) congratulated me on my single, which was nice. I congratulated him on his Brit Award (One Direction collected the Best British Video Award for Drag Me Down). It was a good chat. We haven't met up in a long time so we want to meet up."

Zayn's Mind of Mine album is released on Friday (25Mar16).