Today marks one year since One Direction singer Liam Payne fell to his death from a balcony at a hotel in Argentina and social media has been flooded with tributes to the star
Celebrities are paying tribute to Liam Payne on the first anniversary of the singer’s tragic death. The star, best known for being one of the five former members of One Direction, died on October 16 2024, aged 31, after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Argentina.
A post-mortem examination report said Payne died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” after falling from a balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires. Liam’s older sister, Ruth, has also shared a tear-jerking tribute to the singer, revealing she has been left “paralysed with grief.”
In her long letter to her brother, Ruth went on to say that Liam’s death will never “make sense” to her. She went on to say she is frequently having the same nightmare – being in Liam’s hotel room, just moments before he fell to his death.
Taking to Instagram Stories, Anne Twist, the mother of Liam’s former bandmate, Harry Styles, shared All On The Board’s touching tribute, reading: “Rest in peace, Liam Payne. We are shocked and lost for words. It’s a tragedy that you have passed away so young; you will be forever loved, always missed and never forgotten.
READ MORE: Liam Payne’s sister Ruth says his death will ‘never make sense’ in heartbreaking tributeREAD MORE: Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy’s tear-jerking tribute on anniversary of death
“You will live on in all the songs you sung. May heaven be a paradise for you where you’re safe and nothing can hurt you, may you feel the love from earth in your new home there; sending so much love to those who loved you, your family, your friends, your One Direction brothers and the directioners. And so much love to your son Bear.”
Liam’s former One Direction hair stylist, Lou Teasdale, shared a picture of the five lads packed inside the back of a bread van while on their stadium tour in South America. The chart-mauling band hid inside the van in order to escape the stadium unnoticed, without thousands of fans following them.
Zayn Malik’s sister, Waliyha, said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Today is exactly one year since you are no longer with us, we continue with the routine, but it is difficult to forget you from one day to the next. You will always be in our thoughts, Liam. We will love you and miss you for life.”
1D’s former security guard, Paul Higgins, also shared a very moving tribute, alongside a collection of images of Liam taken over the years. Paul penned: “October 2023, exactly one year to the day before you left us!
“We took a road trip around Ireland, a simple journey with good friends… yet it became something more!! A week of love, hope and prayer. We were back on the road again…not knowing how precious these moments would become forever!
“Love and miss you always brother! A gentle, special soul! Rest easy.” Elsewhere, One Direction’s drummer, Josh Devine, shared a snap of himself and Liam taken at a rehearsal studio, alongside: “One whole year,” with a broken heart emoji.
Former Union J singer, Josh Cuthbert also shared a snap of Liam, alongside the caption: “1 year ago the world lost Liam Payne, it must not be forgotten. The music industry as a whole let him down MASSIVELY. It let me down on countless occasions, and I feel grateful for still being here. It was nearly a different story, and there were plenty of times I didn’t want to be here anymore; the music industry played a huge part in that situation, too.
“But unfortunately not everyone can get through it, just look at how many young lives we have lost to mental health… Not just in the music industry but as a whole. Mental health continues to destroy so many young lives. Which is why we need to continue spreading awareness and speak about these difficult topics.
“It HAS to stop and we all can play our part. Speak to people you think are suffering, offer support, offer a safe space for them to open up. Making that someone feel less lonely is a HUGE first step to getting better. Let’s continue to speak about this, so we have less great people, like Liam, leaving us far too soon.”
Earlier this month, Louis Tomlinson revealed Niall Horan informed him about the death of the pair’s former One Direction bandmate Payne, saying “we all looked up to him”.
The 33-year-old said Payne had been pushing for a reunion of the band, which also included Harry Styles and Zayn Malik. Speaking to host Steven Bartlett on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, Tomlinson said he was in Los Angeles when he first heard of Payne’s death.
“In the car, in LA. I found out through Niall,” he said, telling Bartlett the news evoked a similar reaction to when his sister Felicite died of an accidental drug overdose in 2019.
“I had the same feeling that I had with Felicite, and I think anyone has this when they’re around someone who’s struggling; my 150 per cent wasn’t nearly enough. And that’s when it’s my own arrogance thinking that I could have helped really, because it was so much deeper than what I could have done for him. He was definitely struggling at that time in his life.”
Tomlinson also revealed that Payne had been campaigning for a One Direction reunion, but he said it would not feel “right”. “Never say never… but I’m just not sure it would be right to (Payne),” Tomlinson said.
“Say for the sake of argument, 25 years’ time, it’s like a f****** Oasis thing, they offer us an arm and a leg, and they’re like, ‘Come back and do this many shows’, I don’t know. (Payne’s death) just completely put a pin in all of that. And the irony is, there was no one campaigning for One Direction to get back more than Liam. I would say I came in a close second.”
A court in Argentina dropped charges in February of criminal negligence against three out of the five people who had been charged in connection with Payne’s death.
At the BRIT Awards in March he was remembered with a video montage which showed him with his family and a clip from his time on The X Factor and then with One Direction, who won seven gongs at the music awards before they split up.
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