Following the tragic loss of One Direction star Liam Payne, fans have gathered across the country to remember the singer. The special moment when hundreds of fans gathered at Glasgow’s George Square and sang a heartbroken rendition of ‘Story of My Life’ has been captured over the weekend.
Touching scenes show dozens of Scottish fans standing together as they belted out the tune in memory of Liam, who died after falling from a balcony in Argentina on October 16.
The star, who was just 31, had been staying at Casa Sur Palermo hotel when he plunged to his death from a third-floor balcony at 5pm local time. He suffered “very serious injuries incompatible with life” and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A police investigation is currently ongoing into his death, and his funeral is expected to be in November. Liam’s devastated dad, Geoff, flew out to South America to identify his son’s body late last week and has started organising the return of his body to the UK.
In Glasgow on Sunday, George Square was filled with balloons, floral arrangements, and notes left for the star, and many fans waved their hands in the air while singing the One Direction hit. On the same day, hundreds of Liam Payne fans gathered in Edinburgh to pay their respects to the star at a memorial held at The Meadows.
Liam shot to fame in 2010 after appearing on The X Factor, when judge Simon Cowell placed him in a band with Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan. He then went on to have a solo career.
Tributes have poured in, with former X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary remembering Liam as ‘polite, grateful, and was always humble’. Taking to social media, Dermot said, “I remember him as a 14-year-old turning up to audition on The X Factor and blowing us away singing Sinatra. He just loved to sing. He was always a joy, had time for everyone, was polite, grateful, and humble.”
Singer Olly Murs, who starred on The X Factor a year before One Direction, said he was “lost for words”, describing the tragic death as “devastating” on Instagram.
Olly paid tribute and wrote: “We always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the catch-ups were only short and sweet, but when we did it was mostly about how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our love for Becks, the old XF (X Factor) days and the tour we shared together.
“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams, so to see his life now end so young hits hard. I’m truly gutted and devastated for his family and, of course, his son Bear losing a dad.”
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