He's sixty-nine and still rocking on

Harry Rushworth loves One Direction. He knows their songs, he sings along. But unlike most of their fans, Harry Rushworth is a 69-year-old grandfather of six.

Last night he took his place among thousands of screaming teenage girls to see the boy band play at Auckland's Vector Arena.

And he made it a family affair, three generations in fact, taking his daughter Yvonne Schwass, 39, and her 10-year-old daughter Emma with him to the sold-out show.

"We were very lucky. They're a great group, they remind me a little bit of the Beatles, without playing the instruments. I like all of their songs. I'm an old fart, but I like modern music."

Mrs Schwass and Emma travelled from Pukekawa and met Mr Rushworth for dinner in Parnell before going to Vector early to buy One Direction merchandise ahead of the show.

"Dad just loves to see his grandchildren happy and doing stuff that they really enjoy doing," Mrs Schwass said.

"He had a massive heart attack last year and that's given him quite a different perspective on life. He just tries to get out there and do as much as possible now."

While in New Zealand, Mr Rushworth's favourite boy-bander added to his tattoo collection. Malik and bandmate Louis Tomlinson revealed that they got inked on Friday.

- additional reporting APNZ