20 October 2024
The Wanted led their fans in a minute of applause for the late Liam Payne.
The Wanted paid tribute to Liam Payne
The One Direction singer died after falling from his hotel balcony on Wednesday (16.10.24) and the following evening, the group - comprising Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes - paid tribute to their friend at their show at the Avalon Theatre in Canada on Thursday (17.10.24), remembering how kind and supportive he was when bandmate Tom Parker died from a brain tumour in 2022.
In video footage from the concert shared on X, Max said: “Yesterday, we found out the tragic news about someone that we knew personally — Liam Payne— and yeah and obviously shockingly heartbreaking.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to him, his friends, family and fans all over the world.”
He noted the 'Strip That Down' hitmaker had been "really, really supportive" when they staged a fundraiser following Tom's diagnosis.
He added: “He was the first person, the first artist to put his hand up and say that he wanted to perform, which we’ll never forget.
“He was amazing … and even after Tom passed, you know he came to Tom’s funeral, and he was extremely supportive to all of us, even though we hadn’t really been sort of friends.
"We knew each other up until Tom [died]. We became friends and he really, really supported us and we’ll never ever forget that.”
Max and Siva then urged the audience to take part in a moment of applause for Liam, and the crowd clapped for over a minute.
The touching moment came after Max had earlier shared a tribute to Liam on Instagram.
The 'Chasing the Sun' hitmaker wrote alongside a number of photos: "Absolutely devastating news.
"I met Liam way back when 1D were on 'X Factor'. Over the last few years I had the pleasure of getting to know him personally and spent some treasured time with him.
"Liam was absolutely wonderful in terms of support when Tom fell ill, performing at the Royal Albert Hall with us for Stand Up To Cancer.
"He supported me a lot personally after Tom passed. I will never forget that,.
"My thoughts are with his family, friends and fans all around the world at this tragic time. Rest in Peace Liam. Much love brother [black heart emoji] (sic)"
English (US) ·