Niall Horan has opened up about honouring his One Direction bandmate, Liam Payne, on stage following his tragic death last year.
Niall Horan has revealed he will be channelling his grief over Liam Payne’s “shocking” death into his upcoming world tour in a heartbreaking confession about coping with the loss of his One Direction bandmate.
The Irish singer, 32, said Liam’s death aged 31 in 2024 has left him determined to honour his late friend’s memory on stage.
“Obviously it was extremely shocking and tough,” he said of the tragedy. “Someone that you know so well and who is only a couple of weeks older than you is just no longer with us. It’s a surreal thing to even think about.”
But rather than let the tragedy derail him, the Slow Hands star revealed that his late friend – who died after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 2024 – now drives him to perform.
“It fires me up because I know that Liam loves being on stage,” he explained. “That would make me excited to get on tour and do it for the fans because I know that he loved it as much as I did.”
The singer has dedicated a song to Liam for his new album Dinner Party, due for release on 5 June. The song, End of an Era, came together very quickly once he and co-writers John Ryan and Julian Bunett realised what it was really about.
“We were dancing around it subconsciously,” Niall recalled on And The Writer Is podcast with Ross Golan. “Julian actually said this song is about Liam. We just don’t know it yet.”
The poignant track includes the lyrics: “It feels like letting go of things we’re not supposed to. One breath and it’s over, end of an era.”
Another line reads: “We had it, pure magic, remember what it was like, time passes so fast and I couldn’t tell you goodbye.”
Speaking about his former bandmate, Niall got emotional and admitted to getting “goosebumps” while discussing their time together.
“They are two of the feelings I have when I think of Liam: sadness that he’s not with us anymore, but also looking back at the good times of growing up together and making records together,” he said.
“All the small moments that we had in hotel rooms and on stage – looking at each other on stage. All of those things come flooding back in this song along with the sadness.”
Niall made rare comments about his other One Direction bandmates – Harry Styles, 32, Louis Tomlinson, 34, and Zayn Malik, 33 – confessing they rarely discuss their careers with each other.
“We don’t really talk about music too much. We more talk about the memories,” he explained. “We don’t really have a music industry-style relationship.”
Despite remaining in touch via a WhatsApp group, he said the group struggle to meet up due to their busy schedules, describing them as “ships passing in the night.”
Niall also opened up about his personal life, teasing that he’s become a “homebody” since settling down with girlfriend Amelia Woolley, 28. When asked if he wants to start a family, he added: “I would like to, I like the idea of course, yeah.”
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