British boyband star and solo singer Liam Payne has died aged 31, after falling from a hotel in Argentina. Payne was 16 when he joined One Direction, which was formed by music executive Simon Cowell on reality show The X Factor in 2010. The band – Payne, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik – went on to become one of the biggest boybands of all time. They went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne began a solo career
Born in Wolverhampton, England in 1993, Payne was just 16 years old when he became part of One Direction, a boyband formed by Simon Cowell on British reality show The X Factor in 2010.
Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Niall Horan perform at The X Factor live show in London in October 2010.
Photograph: Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Rex/Shutterstock
Malik, Styles, Payne, Tomlinson and Horan in 2010, visiting the iconic zebra crossing at Abbey Road, London, where the Beatles were photographed for their album of the same name.
Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock
The band travelled in a luxury helicopter to Glasgow, Manchester and London to launch their first single, What Makes You Beautiful, in September 2011.
Photograph: Dave Hogan/Getty Images
One Direction perform on NBC’s Today show in New York in 2012.
Photograph: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
British prime minister David Cameron with the band at 10 Downing Street during the filming of the video for their Comic Relief single, One Way or Another, in February 2013.
Photograph: Comic Relief/PA
Payne, Horan, Tomlinson, Malik and Styles pose with One Direction’s Brits global success award at the Brit awards in 2013.
Photograph: Tim P Whitby/Getty Images
Payne surrounded by fans while performing at the Today show concert series in New York in 2013.
Photograph: Broadimage/Rex/Shutterstock
Payne at the 2015 American Music awards in Los Angeles.
Photograph: Stefanie Keenan/AMA2015
Payne meets Queen Elizabeth II after the Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey in London in March 2018.
Photograph: Reuters
Payne performs at BBC Music’s Biggest Weekend, held at Singleton Park in Swansea, Wales in May 2018.
Photograph: Jo Hale/Redferns
Payne performs during Nickelodeon SlimeFest in Chicago, Illinois in June 2018.
Photograph: Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images for Nickelodeon
Rita Ora and Payne perform at Westfield Square in London in October 2018.
Photograph: Matt Crossick/PA
Payne kitted up for Soccer Aid for Unicef at Old Trafford in Manchester in 2023.
Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty Images
