Liam Payne dead at 31

Singer Liam Payne has died at the age of 31.

The ex-One Direction member was holidaying in Buenos Aires with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, when he fell from the third floor of a hotel. It is reported that the police were summoned following reports of a man behaving aggressively at the hotel, possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A body was discovered in the hotel’s inner courtyard.

Alberto Crescenti, a spokesperson for the city’s ambulance service, stated that he fell around 40 metres and sustained “severe injuries that were incompatible with life.”

“Liam James Payne, composer and guitarist, former member of the band One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Palermo,” a police statement said.

The pop group One Direction, formed on The X Factor in 2010, included Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles. They achieved worldwide fame with hits like “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life,” selling over 70 million records globally and earning numerous awards before their 2016 hiatus.

Payne, who had previously auditioned for the ITV talent show in 2008, at age 14 without success, launched a solo career after the band’s break, releasing the hit single “Strip That Down” in 2017. A gifted songwriter, he co-wrote many tracks for One Direction and his solo projects, working with notable artists and producers such as Ed Sheeran, Charlie Puth, and Ryan Tedder.

Recently, Payne has shared his travels in Argentina and attended a concert by former bandmate Niall Horan. He is survived by his six-year-old son, Bear, with Cheryl Tweedy. The couple started dating in 2016 following Tweedy’s divorce from Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini and separated in 2018.

This week it had been reported that a legal tangle between Liam and his ex Maya Henry could have been heading to court with a controversy involving allegations of obsessive contact and claims of harassment. Henry had accused Payne of relentless and inappropriate communication.