Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer and songwriter.
He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction.
Payne made his debut as a singer when he auditioned for the British television series The X Factor in 2008. After being eliminated as a solo performer, he auditioned again in 2010 and was put into a group with four other contestants to form One Direction
Ant Middleton describes Liam Payne's death as a 'tragic loss' as he pays tribute to 'little brother'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukFormer SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton has paid tribute to Liam Payne, the ex-One Direction singer, following his untimely death at 31.
The two struck up a close friendship while filming a documentary, with Ant considering Liam akin to a "little brother". In the wake of the sad news, Ant joined Good Morning Britain live from Australia where he was appearing on TV about his latest documentary when he had received the news.
In conversation with Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, he described Liam's passing as "a tragic loss". He said: "I was just shocked, I was lost for words to be honest.
He was such a positive outgoing guy who I believed just lacked a sense of belonging when he left the band." Reflecting on their shared experiences during their documentary special in Namibia, Ant related to Liam's search for purpose post-fame, stating: "And when we did our special together in Namibia I could relate with that because when I left the military I sort of lost my sense of belonging.
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