Liam Payne’s passing was a shock to the world when, just days leading up to it, the singer was hanging out with former bandmate Niall Horan and had flown to watch him perform. Opening up about the big grief that came with his friend’s demise, the singer told GQ Hype that receiving the update didn’t feel real, as they had just hung out days before. The sadness has since transformed into a song called End of an Era, on his new album, Dinner Party.
Niall Horan breaks the silence on fellow former One Direction member Liam Payne’s passing
Admitting that he took the sorrow to his heart and went into hiding for a little bit after the funeral to grieve in private, the 32-year-old said that going through their memories made him feel “nostalgic… along with fear and sadness and all the stuff that comes with grief.”
After working together as a part of One Direction, they have a lot that no one else knows about. “[There are] memories that only he and I can share ‘cause you have a team and you have people around all the time. But we always said that only us have that experience, no one else has that.”
The This Town hitmaker had a great experience meeting Liam Payne, who he said was in ‘good form’ and laughed about just days before his fatal fall. Recalling the moment he was told about his dear friend’s demise, he added, “I just remember getting a message. And I was just like, ‘What?’… I just didn’t think it was real. Someone so young, you’re not expecting to hear that they’ve passed, especially someone that you’ve just seen. I just went back from shock to sadness to anger.”
About Niall’s song for Liam
“We just kept working on it until we felt it was right. And I love it,” said Julian Bunetta, who co-wrote the song with Niall Horan. “It could be easy to not write about it because it’s a hard subject. It’s a hard thing to do. So I’m proud of him for doing it.”
Niall Horan and his group mates, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, all came together for the first time publicly at Liam Payne’s funeral, including former member Zayn Malik.
