One Direction in radio meltdown

NOT content with bringing Sydney's business district to a standstill, boy band One Direction's entourage may have caused 2GB to go off air with a power outage.

One Direction fans

NOT content with bringing Sydney's business district to a standstill, boy band One Direction's entourage may have caused 2GB to go off air with a power outage.

The Sydney AM talk show went off air at about 9.55am during Ray Hadley's morning program.

A power surge, which coincided with the UK pop group's arrival, has unofficially been blamed for the incident.

One Direction were at the station to prerecord an interview with breakfast announcer Alan Jones, which is expected to air tomorrow. A visiting TV camera crew filming the band is one possible cause of the surge, which occurred just after they entered one of the station's studios.

Technicians rushed out to the transmitter in Homebush and forty minutes later the Radio 2GB program director David Kidd told Media he was unable to confirm the cause of the fault but was consulting with technicians.

Hadley continued broadcasting his program online during the 40 minutes before the program went back on air.

It is understood that this is not the first time 2GB has been taken off air, by a power surge, with previous incidents occurring at their old studio at Sussex St in Sydney.

The mania that has greeted the first Australian visit of the band, who found fame on the UK talent show The X Factor, has been likened to the hysteria that greeted tours by The Beatles (1964) and Abba (1977). But in reality the crowds were far fewer.

After scoring two pages in The Daily Telegraph with their antics yesterday on board a luxury yacht and a dip in the cold Sydney Harbour, the five boys today embarked on a 13 hour promotion stint.

They capped a triumphant appearance on Nine's Today show, earning a hug from presenter Karl Stevanovic, who confessed to a "man crush'' on Harry.

The band, still mostly teenagers, announced it would return next year for a full arena tour.

Then Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne,  Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik raced into Martin Place for an appearance on Seven's Sunrise, where they were surrounded with hoards of screaming teenage girls.