Niall Horan is currently performing on his Dinner Party Live on Tour, during which he shares the most incredible tribute to Liam Payne, honouring their success, writes Daniel Bird – ★★★★★
Sixteen years into the game, and Niall Horan is still blown away by his success. Last night, I was at Manchester’s Co-op Live, seeing one of my favourite Irish musicians perform to a packed crowd.
Now, I’ve been lucky enough to see Niall live on multiple occasions, from performing with his former One Direction bandmates, to every solo tour, but last night was so different – in a good way. His latest record, Dinner Party, is inspired by his relationship with girlfriend Amelia Woolley – and it’s the most beautiful insight into their private relationship, from how they met, to their life behind closed doors.
But there’s one track on his set list, End of an Era, which Niall has previously disclosed he had to rewrite following Liam’s heartbreaking death in October 2024. Liam, aged just 31, tragically fell from the balcony of his third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, just days after seeing Niall perform.
Despite the chart-mauling group disbanding in 2026, Liam and Niall remained extremely close and often supported each other during release periods and on social media. But last night, I witnessed an entire arena fall silent as Niall honoured Liam at the end of his performance of End of an Era.
As the live band brought the performance to an end, Liam could be heard reflecting on his achievements both as a soloist and with his former bandmates. The Wolverhampton-born musician was heard saying: “We thought something might happen, but never anything like this. I’m always trying to remind myself of where I come from and where I’ve managed to get to in my life. It’s amazing, really.”
As I said, the arena fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Fans around me were emotionally wiping away their tears and hugging one another, while my friend and I just looked at each other and smiled, knowing that we’ve been a part of 1D’s journey since the very start – and always will be.
As I was writing this, I saw that Liam’s sister, Nicola, was in attendance last night. She said on social media: “Hearing Liam’s voice fill an arena again was something I don’t think any of us will ever be able to put into words. Knowing that this may be the last time we ever hear his voice played out across an arena made it incredibly difficult, but at the same time, there was something so beautiful and comforting about it.”
And honestly, beautiful is perhaps the only word I can use to describe the moment. It was truly magical. Throughout the show, Niall took fans on a real journey, whether it was his slowed-down tracks such as Flicker or Die if I Don’t, performed very beautifully at a dinner table, or my all-time favourite, Black and White. There really was something for everyone on the setlist.
Ten years into his solo career and four albums in, it seems almost impossible to nail down what to perform, but it worked so well. Every track fell perfectly into the next, and Niall himself acknowledged that it took quite a long period of time to reach the final decisions for the tour.
Almost two decades in, you would imagine that he’d be used to thousands of people packing out arenas and screaming his name, but it became very clear that Niall still gets a buzz from this. I would even argue that last night was the most shocked I’d ever seen him – with Niall himself acknowledging that the Co-op Live, one of Europe’s biggest music arenas, was quite the achievement, admitting that he had forgotten how big the Manchester venue was.
“I gotta thank you for everything, thank you so much for the last 16 years,” he said, adding: “It’s been absolutely spectacular and I cannot thank you enough for everything.” It was at this moment that the thousands of fans (including me) erupted into screams and cheers as he performed 1D’s classic “Steal My Girl.”
At this point, I was instantly transported back to being in my late teens, seeing 1D perform the track in stadiums. I’ve seen Niall and his bandmates perform tracks from their heyday in the past, but last night was completely different – he looked as though he was having so much fun, and his energy was infectious.
Track seven on the setlist also gave me quite a thrill. Being rather cryptic, Niall said he’d seen this man and his band perform at Glastonbury, so instantly I knew we were in for a treat. What I could never have predicted, though, was Tom Ogden of Blossoms casually strutting out onto the stage to perform Charlemagne with Niall.
I’ve seen Blossoms twice this year, and I still get giddy whenever they come on stage. So seeing Tom and Niall together was, as my friend described, a “fever dream”, something I never knew I needed or wanted – but boy am I glad it happened. Niall, we all know you love a collab, so please, please, get into the studio with Blossoms and lay down some vocals.
Despite finding fame as one-fifth of a boy band, it’s fair to say that Niall has more than proven himself as a rocker. His warm tones and slightly raspy voice are perfectly executed on his studio albums. But it’s his live performances where Horan delivers even better vocals.
I’ve seen Niall live on every single tour he’s performed as a soloist, as well as several One Direction performances, and, in my opinion, Dinner Party Live on Tour is Niall at his best. He’s still that cheeky chap from Mullingar, but from his 2017 Flicker Sessions tour to now, his voice has matured, and he’s grown into a certified solo artist.
And this was proven by the demographic last night. Normally, I expect to see lads with their partners, but everywhere I looked, there were groups of lads belting out every lyric throughout the night. If you haven’t already, do check out Niall’s new album, Dinner Party – it’s incredible.
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