连恩·佩恩

Liam James Payne (29 August 1993 – 16 October 2024) was an English singer and songwriter. He was a member of the pop band One Direction, one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. Payne twice auditioned as a solo artist on the British television series The X Factor in 2008 and 2010; in the latter, he joined One Direction, which released five albums and acheived global success.

Whilst in One Direction, Payne co-wrote a number of songs with Louis Tomlinson. Following the band's hiatus in 2016, Payne pursued a solo career, signing with Capitol and Republic Records. In 2017, he released his debut solo single "Strip That Down", which reached number three on the UK singles chart and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song received multi-platinum certifications in both countries. The following year, he released "For You", a collaboration with Rita Ora which became a hit worldwide and received gold or platinum certifications in several countries. His debut and sole solo album, LP1, was released in December 2019. During the first three years of his solo career, Payne sold over 18 million singles, 2.4 million albums, and amassed 3.9 billion streams. In addition to his solo work, Payne produced remixes under the pseudonyms Big Payno and Payno, remixing tracks for singer Cheryl. Payne was a brand ambassador for Hugo Boss, appeared in television shows, and raised money for UNICEF, health, and food security causes.

Payne struggled with substance abuse and mental illness throughout his career. On 16 October 2024, he died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while intoxicated with multiple substances. He was later revealed to have died from multiple traumatic injuries. In response to Payne's death, public figures criticised the music industry and media, and concerns were raised about the impact of fame on adolescents. Following his death, Payne's track "Teardrops" entered the UK singles chart, alongside all five One Direction albums.

Early life

Liam James Payne was born in Wolverhampton on 29 August 1993, the son of infant nurse Karen Payne and aircraft fitter Geoff Payne. He had two older sisters named Nicola and Ruth. He grew up in Bushbury. Payne was born three weeks premature and suffered frequent illnesses. Until the age of four, he had regular tests done in hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. In the book Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction, he mentioned that before he was four, "I had to have 32 injections in my arm in the morning and evening to try and make me better."

As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports, particularly running. Payne joined the Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club to pursue his running career. He originally planned to work in an aircraft fitting factory, like his father.

He began taking boxing lessons at the age of 12 amidst bullying from older students in secondary school. Payne completed 11 GCSEs at St Peter's Collegiate School (now St Peter's Collegiate Academy) before moving on to study music technology at City of Wolverhampton College. Payne was introduced to the world of show business at the age of 12, as a member of the Pink Productions Theatre Company, appearing as Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. Payne had previously performed in front of a crowd of over 29,000 people during a Wolverhampton Wanderers football match.