It was co-written by Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott,[1] John Ryan and band members Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.

Talking to MTV News about the track, Bunetta said, "It's the title of the album and it just happens to fall in line with Up All Night, Take Me Home, it's all references to in the evening.

"[9] On 24 January 2014, Payne revealed through a video on the band's YouTube channel that "Midnight Memories" would serve as the third single of the album outside the US.

[10][11] On 25 November, in a track-by-track review on Billboard writer Chris Payne and by Michael Craigg on the Daily Mirror opined that "it opens with groovy guitar licks, leads into a peppy pre-chorus, and rocks out in the chorus behind a riff reminiscent of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me.

Digital download – EP[16] One Direction performed the song during the Midnight Memories release party in Los Angeles on 22 November 2013.

On 19 December 2013, it was announced that Def Leppard had asked their lawyers to look into allegations that "Midnight Memories" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me" bear striking similarities.

However, Def Leppard guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell confirmed to Billboard that they were not, in fact, pursuing legal action.