One Direction's Former Touring Bandmates and Others Close to the Group Pay Tribute to Liam Payne After His Death

• Liam Payne died at the age of 31 on October 16
• Many individuals who worked with Payne during his time in One Direction are paying tribute to the musician
• Musicians including Cher Lloyd and Olly Murs, as well as former One Direction tour mates and others, have spoken out about Payne on social media

Liam Payne will forever be remembered by those who worked with him.

After the “Strip That Down” singer passed away at the age of 31 on October 16, several individuals who worked alongside him during his time in One Direction paid tribute on social media.

Payne was pronounced dead after falling several stories at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Policía Federal Argentina confirmed to PEOPLE.

Liam Payne died of multiple injuries and ‘internal and external’ bleeding: preliminary autopsy report

One Direction in March 2012.

John Shearer/Getty

Cher Lloyd, who finished in fourth place in season 7 The X factor behind One Direction, posted a throwback photo of herself with Payne on Instagram and wrote: “From being on the show together, visiting houses while filming, going on tour together and watching you make your dreams come true.”

“I will cherish the memories and laughs we had. My thoughts are with your family and friends, with everyone who loves you,” the “Want U Back” singer added. “My heart breaks for your son Bear. Rest in peace Liam.”

Liam Payne ‘jumped off his bedroom balcony’ before his death at 31, authorities say

Olly Murs, who opened One Direction’s Up All Night Tour in 2012, shared a picture of himself laughing with Payne on Instagram with the caption: “This news is devastating, I’m speechless.”

The “Troublemaker” artist added, “we always had a good laugh when we saw each other, sometimes the hangouts were just short and sweet, but when we did it was mostly because of how annoyingly good his hair always looked, or our loves according to Becks, the old XF days and the tour we shared together.”

“Liam shared the same passions as me, the same dreams, so to see his life end so young now, I’m very shocked and devastated for his family and of course his son Bear who lost his father,” Murs concluded.

Look back at Liam Payne The X factor Auditions at the age of 14 that led him to his ‘dream’ career

One Direction in August 2013.

Jo Hale/Redferns via Getty

Helene Horlyck, former “Story of My Life” vocal coach, said her “heart is heavy” when she took to Instagram to share a heartfelt note about Payne’s life.

“Liam was the most beautiful young man who just loved to sing. He was only a teenager when I met him and One Direction was formed. His talent and professionalism had a huge impact on the band, especially in the early days as Liam always strived for the best throughout all our session,” she wrote.

Horlyck added: “Liam was funny and a pleasure to spend time with, he even renamed some of my vocal exercises because he had such a wonderful sense of humor and upbeat energy. I will always remember Liam as a decent young man who was caring and kind.Whenever my son Cai joined the world tours, Liam would invite him on his tour bus, sit and play video games with him, make sure he was okay, that’s the kind of person Liam was, warm and friendly. ”

Liam Payne was in the ‘trash room’ before falling from the balcony, hotel staff say in 911 call minutes before his death

Liam Payne in January 2018.

Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty

“Thank you for all the wonderful years dear Liam, you will forever be in my heart and your voice will live on, not only in my memories but also in amazing songs. Rest in peace my dear,” she concluded.

One Direction’s hair and makeup artist, Lou Teasdale, shared multiple posts about Payne. “I hope you’re doing well,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories, before sharing a video of the band performing “Best Song Ever” with the caption “forever”.

Teasdale also took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: “Sending you all so much love.”

One Direction’s tour manager Sarah Nicholas shared an illustration of her heartbreak on Instagram.

Josh Devine, the band’s drummer, took to his Instagram Stories to write about the “heartbreaking news” of Payne’s death.

“I’m just praying for Liams [sic] family and everyone who knew and loved him. Some of my fondest memories in life were because of this man. Speechless,” Devine said.

James “JD” Woolsey, who worked as a bodyguard for One Direction, shared a broken heart, praying hands and doves emoji on Instagram alongside a picture of Payne with bandmate Louis Tomlinson.

One Direction in November 2014.

Kevin Mazur/AMA2014/WireImage

One Direction’s former 5 Seconds of Summer sound engineer John Delf, who now works with Tomlinson, 32, posted a picture of the two musicians on Instagram and wrote: “There are literally no words to describe how tragic this is. RIP Liam.”

Dan Richards, guitarist for the band What Makes You Beautiful, wrote on his Instagram Stories: “This all feels so surreal. Thanks to everyone who reached out, still trying to wrap it all in. My thoughts go out to Liams [sic] family at this time.”

BBC Radio 2’s Scott Mills, who has interviewed One Direction many times on the air, said Payne’s death was “really hard” to process in a post shared on X. “I never in a million years thought we’d have to see goodbye to you like that fast Liam,” he wrote.

One Direction in October 2011.

Dave Hogan/Getty

“We had a lot of fun then and I feel incredibly sad,” added Mills. “I send my love and strength to his family, his friends, and especially his son.”

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Singer Sinitta, Simon Cowell’s friend who first participated in One Direction The X factor performing as a group, shared a photo with Payne on Instagram and wrote: “My heart is broken.”

“You were such a determined and talented boy and so beautiful. You had fire in your eyes and passion in your soul. You KNEW you were The One,” she said. “I hope your death has taught us to pray for all our young Superstars. So we can better protect you.”

Sinitta added: “We strengthen you and applaud you as you fly, we must pray for safety. We build you up and applaud you as you fly, we must pray for safe landings when your wings are broken and help you heal.”

“I will miss you Sweet Sweet Beautiful Boy. Rest in peace. You are so loved,” the musician continued, before offering prayers to Payne’s family, his ex Cheryl and the rest of One Direction, plus his friends and family.

One Direction in March 2012.

George Pimentel/WireImage

Greg Horan, the brother of Payne’s One Direction bandmate Niall, took to Instagram to say the “Get Low” singer was “one of the 4 guys I was lucky enough to take my place in Niall’s life as a brother,” referring to Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Zayn Malik.

He recalled meeting Payne and the other band members as “5 families” before they became “one big” One Direction “family”, adding, “thank you for all the laughs bro.”

One Direction choreographer Paul Roberts shared a picture of a black heart on Instagram and wrote: “Sweet loving Liam. Love is all I have… Such a sad sad day for our 1D family.”

Jon Shone, keyboardist and musical director of the band “Little Things”, wrote an emotional message on Instagram. “It’s always hard to put into words the feelings in your heart when you lose someone you’ve shared such amazing memories with,” he said.

“I want to say thank you. Thank you for the wonderful memories of being in this band with you, the nights I played your music, the nights we sat with beers and talked about how crazy the whole thing was,” Shone added. “My heart goes out to the whole family, the extended 1D family and everyone who knew Liam.”

One Direction in April 2012.

Sam Ruttyn/Newspix/Getty

He concluded: “I hope your mind is at peace now and you can sing the songs you love in peace and tranquility in heaven in heaven. Love always.”

Sandy Beales, who played bass for One Direction, expressed her “love” for Payne in a note shared on Instagram. “Words will never do you justice, but thank you. For everything,” he wrote.

“Always so full of life and always ready to laugh, insanely talented and charismatic on stage, it was a pleasure and an honor to stand there with you,” Beales continued. “It felt like we all grew up on the road together, even when the theaters turned into stadiums, you and the guys would still have time for everyone in the crew and we felt the love on that wild, crazy, life-changing ride.” It’s hard to imagine that there won’t be an opportunity to remember those crazy times,” the bassist added. “Much love and strength to Liam’s family and the 1D boys at this terrible time. We’re all thinking of you!”

Liam Payne in December 2022.

Mike Marsland/WireImage

Payne “jumped off the balcony” of his hotel room before his death, local authorities confirmed to PEOPLE.

Police were called to the scene shortly after 5pm local time and were told Payne died shortly afterwards.

In comments translated from Spanish, Alberto Crescenti (head of SAME, Buenos Aires’ public emergency medical system), said Payne suffered a “fracture of the base of the skull” after the fall, according to Argentina’s TN news channel.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the circumstances of the tragedy, local police told PEOPLE, adding that an autopsy will be performed.

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