Liam Payne: One Direction stars gather for funeral of former bandmate

Amersham, England
CNN
—

Liam Payne’s family, friends and former bandmates have come together to pay tribute to the British singer at his funeral in England on Wednesday, just over a month after the One Direction star died aged 31 in Argentina.

His former bandmates – Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – attended the private service at St. Mary’s Church in the town of Amersham, northwest of London. The stone brick church was decorated with white roses and candlesticks.

Each of Payne’s former bandmates trickled into the venue Wednesday, where several dozen fans and onlookers lined a quaint street in the quaint town.

The crowd stood silent as they watched the guests arrive. Styles was the first One Direction member to emerge from a dark vehicle; he glanced at the mass media before entering the church.

He was joined by TV host and actor James Corden. Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his former partner, Cheryl Tweedy, with whom he shares 7-year-old son Bear, were also among the mourners.

Just after 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), a horse-drawn carriage arrived at the church carrying Payne’s dark blue casket with silver fittings. Two floral tributes adorned the top of the white chariot, one reading “Son” while the other read “Father”.

The late singer’s mother wept and his father stood stoic and watched as their son’s coffin was brought in.

Former Girls Aloud singers Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts supported their former bandmate Tweedy by joining guests to pay their respects.

After the private service, a hearse pulled up to the church entrance and pallbearers took the coffin out again. A procession of mourners, dressed in black, walked along a narrow path outside.

Simon Cowell, the music mogul who famously helped bring One Direction together more than a decade ago, wept and embraced Payne’s parents in front of the church.

Payne died on October 16 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Payne had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system, according to the country’s public prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation. Three people face preliminary felony charges in connection with his death.

The musician spoke publicly about his struggles with substance abuse and his mental health. In the summer of 2023, he said he marked six months of sobriety after completing treatment at a US facility. Later that year, he delayed his tour after suffering a kidney infection.

Payne rose to global fame as part of One Direction, the group created on the British talent show “The X Factor” in 2010. They became a global phenomenon as the first group to have their first four albums debut at No. 1 d. they Billboard 200 and was known for songs such as “What Makes You Beautiful”, “Best Song Ever” and “Story of My Life”.

He and his former bandmates – Malik, Styles, Horan and Tomlinson – subsequently embarked on solo careers after going on “indefinite hiatus” in 2016. The band remains one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, selling more than 70 million records worldwide.

The quartet were “completely devastated” by his death, according to a joint statement on Instagram.

“We will be taking some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother who we loved dearly,” Malik, Styles, Horan and Tomlinson wrote on social media. “The memories we shared with him will be cherished forever.

“We’re going to miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”

Many fans had hoped for years that One Direction – a band that created pandemonium and achieved wild chart success – would one day reunite.

The tragic sight of four bandmates arriving at Payne’s funeral underscored the sudden and devastating nature of his passing.

“I was so stunned. It brought tears to my eyes,” Caroline Jordan, 58, told CNN Wednesday. She had her wedding inside St. Mary’s Church and had followed Payne and his bandmates since they first formed on “X Factor”.

“I’ve seen him from the moment they performed as a band,” she said. “He had so much more to give.”

Victoria Horwood, 28, said she drove past Payne’s house every morning when she took her child to school. His music “got me through a lot of tough times,” Horwood told CNN, and she attended several of One Direction’s concerts.