Niall Horan has said he was in denial when he heard the news of Liam Payne’s death.
Payne died in October 2024 after falling from a third-story hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31 years old.
In a new interview with The Times, Horan, 32, said he was with his One Direction bandmate in Argentina just weeks before his death. “I’m glad of that, it means my last memory of him was happy,” he said.
Payne had flown in to Argentina to see Horan perform on tour, with a video of the moment – in which Payne is seen happily supporting his former bandmate – circulating online.
“It still feels surreal,” continued Horan. “On day one I was, like, ‘Nah, it didn’t happen.’ Our friendship was a bond that was there forever even if we hadn’t seen each other for a while and it’s wild that one day, like the flick of a switch, he’s gone.”
Horan said that “all our families” have remained in touch since Payne’s death two years ago, adding that there is a “light and shade” to his grief.
“When I think of Liam’s passing, there is sadness, but it also makes me laugh and smirk because of the memories we had,” Horan said. “I’ll go to places and think of something stupid in a hotel or something random that makes me laugh.”
He continued: “We always had good fun in Australia because we were able to get out and go to the beach. Liam wasn’t too bad at surfing. I can barely swim.”
The Irish singer has dedicated one of the tracks – titled “End of an Era” – on his forthcoming solo album to his late bandmate. “I think it’s his type of song,” he replied when asked what he thinks Payne would make of it. “He liked Coldplay. He loved songs like ‘You & I’ by One Direction, songs that went somewhere.”
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Speaking about his bandmate Louis Tomlinson’s fellow tribute to Payne, titled “Dark to Light”, Horan said: “We have this shared thing, but so do the fans, they had a loss too.”
Together with Payne, Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Zayn Malik, Horan shot to fame when One Direction was formed on The X Factor in 2010. The five-piece went on to achieve staggering international success with hit songs such as “What Makes You Beautiful” (2011) and “Night Changes” (2014).
Speaking to The Independent in October last year, Tomlinson echoed the same sentiments of disbelief at hearing news of Payne’s death. “It’s something I’ll never really accept, I don’t think,” he said.
Payne’s funeral was held in Amersham, Buckingham in November 2024, and was attended by his family, friends and former bandmates.
