The music mogul admitted he regrets allowing Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne to own the rights to the name One Direction because if he was in charge, he would use it to set up a virtual residency for the band.
Speaking on 'This Morning', Simon - who formed the band on 'X Factor' in 2010 and signed them to his record label - said: "I wish I’d owned the name. “Well, like ABBA. You know the ABBA thing, I’d do that. Yeah, and I wouldn’t have to ask anyone."
Simon, 64, also shared his wish for a One Direction reunion, saying he is sure the band would sell out a worldwide stadium tour easily.
He said: "We would sell out stadiums all over the world. I don’t think it’s going to happen. But I’m just saying if they did (get back together.
"Some of my best memories of my career were around about that time. It was just exciting, it was special and when we saw 20 fans grow into 40 fans and then suddenly 100 and then it went to 2000 and the fans were kind of like really the ones who were making it work all over the world. And being part of that, it was thrilling."
Simon previously admitted his regret over not holding on to the rights to the name One Direction.
He told 'The Diary Of A CEO' podcast: “One thing I regret is I should have kept the name … I should have owned the name.
“That’s the problem. Could have made an animation or whatever, but when you give an artist the name, it’s not yours – and that’s my only regret. If you’re listening, I’ll buy it back from you.
"If one of the band members, for whatever reason, say they don’t want to tour, it can stop the others [from] touring. So, if it was me who owned the name, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
