Zayn Malik pays tribute to Liam Payne as he returns to stage leaving heartbroken fans in tears

Zayn Malik, 31, opened his solo tour in Leeds on Saturday night and paid a moving tribute to his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne, days after attending his funeral

Zayn Malik has paid tribute to his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne on the opening night of his new tour.

The 31-year-old singer kicked off his solo tour Stairway To The Sky at the O2 Academy in Leeds last night, after postponing some concert dates in the wake of Liam's death. As he opened the tour days after Liam's funeral, the "Pillowtalk" hitmaker left fans emotional as he displayed an emotional message for his former bandmate.

The tribute, on a large blue screen, read: "Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro." The message, followed by a heart emoji, was shared widely on social media after leaving the crowd in tears.

Zayn's first-ever solo tour was set to begin in San Francisco on October 23, but after Liam died, he decided to postpone those dates to January. He also had scheduled a show in Edinburgh on the same day as Liam's funeral, but he moved it to December 8.

The singer also informed his fans that another show previously scheduled for November 21 has been moved to December 9. Liam and Zayn shot to unimaginable fame together in 2010 when they formed One Direction on the X Factor along with Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.

Paying tribute to the dad-of-one following his tragic death, Zayn admitted he "never got to thank" the late star for supporting him through some of the "most difficult" in his life. Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me, I can't help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life.

"When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved. Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no f***s about telling people when they were wrong.

"Even though we butted heads because of this a few times, I always secretly respected you for it. I was always happy to know, no matter what happened on stage we could always rely on you to know which way to steer the ship next. I lost a brother when you left us and can't explain to you what l'd give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye."

Zayn, who left One Direction in 2015, attended Liam's funeral this week alongside all his former bandmates. The four of them arrived wearing black suits, solemnly taking in the floral displays put on for Liam, whose death on October 16 left the whole world shocked. They attended the ceremony alongside Liam's loved ones, including friends, family and celebrity pals. The streets were lined with fans, who turned out clutching photographs and flowers in honour of the late singer.

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