Pop
Niall Horan recalls the moment he found out about Liam Payne's tragic death
Niall Horan "went into hiding a little bit" to process the loss of his beloved bandmate Liam Payne.
Niall Horan has opened up about the shock and grief he felt after the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, recalling the moment he first heard the news and the memories that immediately came flooding back.
Speaking to GQ, Horan said he was blindsided by the message that told him Payne had died
He recounted: “I just remember getting a message, and I was just like, What?… I just didn’t think it was real.
“Someone so young, you’re not expecting to hear that they’ve passed, especially someone that you’ve just seen. I just went back from shock to sadness to anger.”
He said the days that followed were filled with old photos, videos and memories of their years growing up together in One Direction.
He explained: “Being nostalgic about it straight away, along with fear and sadness and all the stuff that comes with grief."
Horan also reflected on the early days of the band, remembering sharing a room with Payne before they were officially grouped together.
He said: “I just got to know him a little bit and then we ended up doing what we did together.
“Memories that only he and I can share ’cause you have a team and you have people around all the time, but we always said that only us have that experience, no one else has that.”
After attending Payne’s funeral, Horan said he “went into hiding a little bit” to process the loss.
That period of grief inspired a new song, End Of An Era, which appears on his upcoming album Dinner Party, out June 5. As reported by the publication, the emotional lyrics include: “We had it / Pure magic / Remember what it was like / Time passes / So fast and / I couldn’t tell you goodbye.”
The album marks Horan’s first since 2023’s The Show.
