Niall Horan has moved fans to tears with a tribute to his late One Direction bandmate Liam Payne during his current tour, just days before the second anniversary of Payne's death. Payne died aged 31 on October 16, 2024, after falling from the third floor of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, sustaining injuries incompatible with life.
Tribute During Birmingham Show
At the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday night, Horan kicked off his Dinner Party: Live On Tour. The ninth track of his set, "End of an Era," which itself serves as a tribute to Payne, featured a spoken outro from the Wolverhampton-born singer.
As the track closed, Payne's voice reflected on the band's success: "We thought something might happen, but never anything like this. I'm always trying to remind myself of where I come from and where I've managed to get to in my life. It's amazing, really."
Fans React with Emotion
Fans were visibly overcome, with one writing on X: "Love that him and Lou still find ways to honour him whenever they get the chance." Another said: "I'm already crying OMG, my concert is also on Oct 16, so I can't imagine how emotional I'll be."
A third fan posted: "This live version is so beautiful, and hearing Liam's voice after BROKE ME." Others echoed the sentiment, with one writing: "OMG, I don't know how they manage to get through those songs. How beautiful," and another adding: "Oh @niallofficial, thank you for honouring Liam. That was honestly so beautiful."
Rewriting 'End of an Era'
Horan previously revealed he had to "rewrite" the song following Payne's death. Weeks before his passing, Payne had spent time with Horan in Buenos Aires, where the latter was playing a sold-out show at the Movistar Arena, sharing backstage snaps after meeting hours earlier at Horan's hotel.
For his new record, Horan worked with John Ryan and Julian Bunetta, who had also collaborated with One Direction. "We wrote 'End of an Era' about four times, because originally the song to me meant, 'All right, we're moving on,'" Horan told Rolling Stone, explaining that the song had been written long before and needed revisiting after Payne's death.
John and Julian had been Payne's neighbours, with the four having grown up together on the road. "For the three of us, it was actually quite a crazy experience to have to write a song like that, because you don't ever expect to," Horan said, calling it a "very weird experience" but one they "had to" undertake for themselves, listeners who may have lost a loved one, and Payne's fans and family. "It felt like the right thing to do and something that we wanted to do — just terrible that we had to," he added.
