Liam Payne

Liam James Payne (29 August 1993 – 16 October 2024) was an English singer and songwriter.

He was a member of the pop group One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. Payne twice appeared as a solo auditionee on the British television series The X Factor in 2008 and 2010; in the latter, he was invited to join One Direction alongside fellow contestants, placing third and later achieving global success.

Following One Direction's hiatus in 2016, Payne pursued a solo career, signing with Republic Records in North America. In 2017, he released his debut solo single "Strip That Down", which reached number three on the UK singles chart and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song received multi-platinum certifications in both countries. The following year, he released "For You", a collaboration with Rita Ora which became a hit worldwide and received gold or platinum certifications in several countries. His solo studio album, LP1, was released in December 2019. During the first three years of his solo career, Payne sold over 18 million singles, 2.4 million albums, and amassed 3.9 billion streams. In addition to his solo work, Payne produced remixes under the pseudonyms Big Payno and Payno, remixing tracks for both his group and for singer Cheryl.

Payne struggled with substance abuse and mental illness throughout his career. On 16 October 2024, he died at the age of 31 after falling off a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following his death, Payne's track "Teardrops" debuted on the UK singles chart, alongside the re-entry of 11 of his other works.

Early life

Liam James Payne was born at New Cross Hospital in the Heath Town district of Wolverhampton on 29 August 1993, the son of infant nurse Karen Payne and fitter Geoff Payne. He had two older sisters named Nicola and Ruth. Payne was born three weeks premature and suffered frequent illnesses. Until the age of four, he had regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. In the book Dare to Dream: Life As One Direction, he mentioned that before he was four, "I was always in hospital having tests done but they couldn't find out what was wrong. They discovered that one of my kidneys wasn't working properly and it had scarred. I had to have 32 injections in my arm in the morning and evening to try and make me better."

As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports, particularly cross-country running. Payne joined the Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club to pursue his running career. For three years he was ranked in the top three 1500m runners in the country within his age group.

He began taking boxing lessons at the age of 12 amidst bullying from older students in secondary school. Payne completed 11 GCSEs at St Peter's Collegiate School (now St Peter's Collegiate Academy) before moving on to study music technology at City of Wolverhampton College. Payne was introduced to the world of show business at the age of 12, as a member of the Pink Productions Theatre Company, appearing as Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. Payne had previously performed in front of a crowd of 26,000 during a Wolverhampton Wanderers football match.

Payne had spoken about his struggles with alcoholism since the peak of One Direction's success. More specifically, he mentioned being locked in hotel rooms with a mini-bar between gigs. In May 2023, Payne mentioned being sober for over three months. That July, he shared a video expanding on this, and discussed spending 100 days in a rehab facility in Louisiana. In August 2023, Payne was hospitalised with a kidney infection.

On 1 June 2022, he was intoxicated while being interviewed by Logan Paul for his podcast series. Payne said that One Direction originated with a promise that Simon Cowell had made to him; Payne had previously appeared on the show and Cowell purportedly pledged to "make it work" should he return. He also discussed former fellow member Zayn Malik's family life and said, "There's many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there's many reasons why I'll always, always be on his side". He later clarified his remarks on Malik and apologised.

Death

On 2 October 2024, Payne and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy travelled to Argentina to renew his United States O visa at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires and to attend Horan's The Show: Live on Tour concert at the city's Movistar Arena. He had posted about his intention to travel to Argentina in videos to his Snapchat account. Payne and Cassidy initially stayed at a luxury Airbnb property in Buenos Aires before relocating to a hotel when Payne's visa application was delayed and their booking expired. Cassidy returned to her home in Florida on 14 October, with Payne staying in Argentina. A fan told reporters that Payne had approached them on 16 October and had appeared sober and discussed with them at length his time in Buenos Aires and his appreciation of the area.

Later that day, Payne died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, at the age of 31. Police went to the hotel following an emergency call from the hotel manager, who reported "an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol". The manager indicated in the call that "when he is conscious he is destroying the entire room and we need you to send someone", noting that the man's life was at risk due to the room having a balcony. Payne fell from the balcony shortly after emergency services arrived. His death was confirmed at 5:11 p.m. Argentina Time (UTC−03:00) The emergency medical team that arrived at the hotel reported a "cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries" that led to Payne's immediate death.

Alberto Crescenti, the director of Buenos Aires' public emergency medical service, announced Payne's death on the Argentine news channel TN, saying that the fall was from a height of approximately 13 to 14 metres (43 to 46 ft) and that Payne sustained "very serious injuries incompatible with life" leaving "no possibility of resuscitation". Crescenti declined to comment on whether the death was a suicide or an accident. Pablo Policicchio, communications director for the Buenos Aires Security Ministry, stated that Payne "had jumped from the balcony of his room". The office did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the claim and directed the reporters to the prosecutor's office. The forensic experts later reported that Payne "did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself" and that he "could have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness". According to Argentine journalist Paula Varela, citing unreleased CCTV footage, Payne accidentally fell to his death after fainting on the balcony.

Payne's body was initially interred at the Cementerio Británico in Buenos Aires before being repatriated by air to the United Kingdom on 6 November. His funeral was held on 20 November at Saint Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.