Niall Horan says his last memory with Liam Payne was ‘happy’

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

Former One Direction singer Niall Horan has said his last memory with late former bandmate Liam Payne was “happy”.

The 32-year-old met Payne shortly before his death in October 2024, at one of his shows in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina, and the boyband’s surviving members: Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik; reunited at his funeral alongside their former manager, Simon Cowell, in November that year.

Speaking about their meeting, Horan told The Sunday Times: “I’m glad of that, it means my last memory of him was happy, it still feels surreal.

“On day one I was, like, ‘nah, it didn’t happen’, our friendship was a bond that was there for ever even if we hadn’t seen each other for a while and it’s wild that one day, like the flick of a switch, he’s gone.”

The singer went on to say that he is in touch with Payne’s family as they shared grief.

He added: “All our families are in touch, they shared those experiences, too.”

Horan will release his fourth studio album, Dinner Party, next week, and the record features a song called End Of An Era, which he says is about Payne.

Asked what Payne would have thought of the song, Horan said: “I think it’s his type of song, he liked Coldplay, he loved songs like You & I by One Direction, songs that went somewhere.

“It’s funny, actually, now you say that, thinking about the stuff he liked.

“When I think of Liam’s passing, there is sadness, but it also makes me laugh and smirk because of the memories we had.

“I’ll go to places and think of something stupid in a hotel or something random that makes me laugh.

“We always had good fun in Australia because we were able to get out and go to the beach. Liam wasn’t too bad at surfing. I can barely swim.”

One Direction formed in 2010, when they were put together by Cowell on ITV talent show The X Factor.

They went on to have four UK number one singles and four UK number one albums, and are best known for songs such as Story Of My Life, What Makes You Beautiful and Best Song Ever.

Horan’s solo career was launched after he and his fellow One Direction band members went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Malik left the group.

He released his debut solo album, Flicker, in 2017, and has gone on to release the albums Heartbreak Weather (2020) and The Show (2023).