Former One Direction member Liam Payne dies after fall in Argentina

British musician Liam Payne, former member of the Anglo-Irish boy band One Direction, died on Wednesday October 16 at the age of 31 in Argentina, Buenos Aires police announced. “Liam James Payne, songwriter and guitarist, former member of One Direction, died today after falling from the third floor of a Palermo hotel”a district of the Argentine capital, police reported in a press release. She explained that she had intervened after “a call to 911 (the emergency number) report an aggressive man who may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol ».

The musician presented “Very serious injuries following his fall, we found him dead, there was no possibility of resuscitation”emergency chief Alberto Crescenti said on local television. He said emergency services were called to the Casa Sur hotel, in the Palermo district, after receiving a call at 5:04 p.m. (10:04 p.m. in France). Arriving seven minutes later, a team “I found this man dead and later we found out he was a singer in a band”he continued. An investigation into the causes of death has been opened.

Alongside Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles, Liam Payne was one of the members of the boy band formed in 2010 and which enjoyed dazzling success. One Direction is a product of the television series The X factor which has become one of the bestsellers in the world since its revelation in 2010. In October 2016, the members of the group, then all aged around twenty, announced that they were taking an indefinite break while ensuring that they wanted to continue. Since then, they have never met on stage or in the studio. The fairly soft and light pop group released their fifth and final studio album in 2016, Made in the morning.

Liam Payne then announced that he was working on a solo album, following in the footsteps of the other members of the group. His solo single, Strip it awayranked third in the UK charts and tenth in the US Billboard Top Songs chart. In December 2019, he released his first solo album LP1.

Born August 29, 1993 in Wolverhampton, Liam Payne is the author of several songs from the One Direction discography. In recent years, he has spoken openly about his struggles with alcoholism and the struggles of fame. In a 2023 video posted to his YouTube account, he admitted to being admitted to a rehabilitation center for his alcohol addiction: “I kind of became someone I didn’t really recognize anymore. And I’m sure you don’t recognize it either. »he then said. Last year, he announced that he was working on a second album and had just released a new single in March 2024.

According to the magazine BillboardLiam Payne attended a concert by his former partner Niall Horan in Buenos Aires on October 2. A few minutes after the announcement of the singer’s death, many fans and curious people gathered silently in front of the door of the hotel where the death was noted, under the surveillance of a dozen police officers.