One Direction star Niall Horan nearly had a tattoo inked on his butt - but was told his skin was "too squidgy".

The pop singer was tempted to join his body art-loving bandmates Harry Styles and Zayn Malik by getting his first tattoo, and picked out a design to represent his native Ireland.

However, Horan admits the artist at a Los Angeles parlour "actually did me a favor" by refusing to go through with his request.

Horan tells Britain's The Sun, "Harry and Zayn are going at it with the tattoos. They are covered now. Harry seems to have a different one every day. I was going to get a barcode on my wrist with my date of birth written across it. To be fair, I don't even know if I really wanted it.

"I decided to get Made In Ireland in green on my a**e cheek and I went to the place in L.A. where they do it. Me and the boys went in and they said they wouldn't do it. They said, 'The skin on your a**e is too squidgy. It needs to be tight.' I suspect they actually did me a favor. It wasn't the best idea in the world."