Liam Payne: The ambitious One Direction star who struggled with dark side of fame

Singer, who rose to fame as a member of boyband One Direction, died aged 31 after falling from a hotel in Buenos Aires

Liam Payne, who rose to global fame as a member of the British pop band One Direction, has died aged 31.

The singer died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Argentina, officials said on Wednesday 16 October. Pablo Policicchio, the spokesperson for the Security Ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said in a statement to the Associated Press that police were dispatched to the hotel in response to an emergency call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”.

Born in Wolverhampton, England, Payne was drawn to singers such as Usher and Justin Timberlake. He remembered his childhood as a happy one: his father, Geoff, worked as a fitter, while his mother, Karen, was a nursery nurse.

“It was great, though we didn’t have much,” he told The Telegraph in a 2017 interview. “Dad was in debt, but they did the best they could. It makes you dream a bit, you know?”

Believing a career in music would be “the thing that made my parents proudest”, he first appeared as a contestant on reality TV contest The X Factor in 2008, but was told by judge and show creator Simon Cowell to come back in two years.

When he returned in 2010, he was placed in the group One Direction alongside fellow contestants Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson. It was his big break.

Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zane Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction during the X Factor in 2010 (Getty Images)

“At the start we couldn’t get past our own egos,” he told The Guardian in a 2019 interview. “Everybody had their own little thing – it was like having four older brothers.” He claimed to be “a bit more mature” than his bandmates, which he said was due to his focus and ambition for a career in show business.

After placing third in the final, One Direction was signed to judge and show creator Simon Cowell’s label Syco Entertainment. Their debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful”, was an international success upon its release in September 2011, reaching No 1 on the UK singles chart.

What followed was a combined fan and media frenzy that drew comparisons to Beatlemania – One Direction, or “1D”, sold more than 70 million records worldwide and today are considered one of the biggest boybands in music history. They released five albums, including their 2011 debut Up All Night, and won a number of awards including seven Brits and four MTV Video Music awards.

Payne referred to the time he spent in One Direction as “like uni”, but would later open up about his experiences of burnout and claustrophobia: “Cabin fever,” he told The Telegraph. “It sent me a bit AWOL at one point, if I’m honest. I can remember when there were 10,000 people outside our hotel. We couldn’t go anywhere. It was just gig to hotel, gig to hotel. And you couldn’t sleep, because they’d still be outside.”

Payne performing a solo gig in 2018. One Direction, despite having massive success, stopped working together in 2015 (Getty Images for Nickelodeon)

He said his exasperation with fame came to a head in New York in 2012 when he was walking to a restaurant with his parents, and a photographer accidentally pushed his mum down. “I was like, ‘Oh, f*** this. F*** this s***,’” he recalled. “There was a swarm of them and I just wanted a burger with my parents. I cried my eyes out. I thought, ‘I can’t do this,’ and really hated my life.”

Malik announced in 2015 that he was leaving the band; One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus just months later. “It was a little bit dark and twisted towards the end of it,” Payne told The Guardian of the band’s split. “But the last few shows were really beautiful moments because the pressure cooker had been let off.

“It was almost like counting down to holiday... we were going to wake up that Monday morning with no schedule.” Payne was in therapy for two years after 1D split: “It was difficult at the start, because I didn’t really know anything about myself. It was a bit of a numb feeling.”

Payne said he was initially reluctant to pursue a solo career (PA Archive)

All five former members pursued solo careers: Payne released “Strip That Down” – co-written by Ed Sheeran – as the lead single from what would be his first and only solo album, the R&B-influenced LP1, which was released in 2019.

The record received mixed reviews, with critics observing that he seemed to struggle to assert a distinct artistic identity. However, “Strip That Down” performed well in the charts, achieving a Top 5 in the UK and reaching No 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Payne admitted to Billboard in 2017 that he had initially balked from pursuing a solo career: “I was just going to go into songwriting and carry on and do that,” he said. “But then I was like, ‘You’ve been trying to do this since you were 14 years old. You would be ridiculously stupid to turn down the option to have a deal.’ Coming out of the band, we had some pretty good opportunities around us. I had to do something.”

Payne appeared to be reaching out to his former One Direction bandmates in recent years. He was in Argentina to see Horan’s show (AP)

His relationship with X Factor judge and former Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy was the subject of scrutiny due to their gap in ages. They first met when Payne auditioned for the show – reports they were dating emerged in 2016, when he was 22 and she was 32. She gave birth to their son, Bear, in March 2017; the couple announced their decision to split in July the following year.

He was in an on-off relationship with model Maya Henry between 2019 to 2022. At the time of his death, he was in a two-year relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy.

Payne spoke often about his struggles with alcoholism. In June 2022, he appeared in a controversial podcast interview with social media influencer Logan Paul, where he made a number of outlandish claims about One Direction and his former bandmates. Following a backlash, Payne apologised and later announced that he had checked into rehab.

“A lot of what I said came from the wrong place,” he said in a video shared to his YouTube channel. “I was so angry at what was going on around me and instead of taking a look inwards I decided to look outwards at everybody else, and I just think, yeah, I took it out on everybody else, which is just wrong, really.”

Despite regretting his remarks, he said the podcast interview helped him get “more of a grip on life and everything that was getting away from me”. He celebrated 100 days of sobriety in May 2023.

Fans gather outside the Buenos Aires hotel where Payne died on 16 October (AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Payne reportedly shared a Snapchat saying he was travelling to Argentina in part to see his former bandmate Horan play a show there: “It’s been a while since me and Niall have spoken,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to talk about and I would like to square up a couple of things with the boy. No bad vibes or nothing like that but we just need to talk.”

Payne released his latest single, “Teardrops”, earlier this year, which was accompanied by an acoustic version.

He is survived by his parents, his two older sisters, and his son, Bear, aged seven.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.