How Liam wanted to give Bear ‘a normal life’ & ‘only had one working kidney

BACK in 2015, I was on a shoot with the 1D boys when Liam Payne took me to one side – he had something important to tell me.

“I read this quote recently,” he said, looking super-serious.

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“‘It’s not what you do, it’s what happens to you that everyone remembers.’ I think that really applies to me.”

He was 22 at the time and thinking only of his fame with One Direction, one of the most successful boy bands in history.

No one could have predicted that, almost exactly nine years later, his life would tragically be over at the age of 31, after falling to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

We were in a photographic studio in London and it was October 2015, just weeks after One Direction had announced their plans to “take a break”.

It was the final interview they would ever do as a band – although they were already minus Zayn Malik, who had quit seven months before.

Crowds of hysterical teenage fans – many accompanied by equally smitten mothers – were swarming the building. The atmosphere was charged.

All four were exhausted after five solid years touring the world, winning armies of fans and awards and selling 70 million albums.

But on that day, each showed signs of how they were going to cope with life without 1D.

Harry Styles, drinking a bulletproof coffee (black with butter for energy) talked about Los Angeles, Niall Horan of going home to Ireland, and Louis Tomlinson (feasting on a Greggs steak bake) was busy arranging nights out with mates he hadn’t been able to hang out with for years.

“I think they had a better laugh at uni than we’ve had – except we’re all sorted for life,” Louis said.

Only Liam had the air of someone who hadn’t got his head around the fact that the crazy red-carpet lifestyle had been pulled from under their feet.

“It’s just a break,” he told me, anxiously. “It’s not a split. We’re not going anywhere. It’s not the end.”

The rest of them were silent. You could see he wasn’t himself. He told me he hadn’t been able to exercise and had hit the mini bar “a bit too hard”.

“I’m a bit of a mess. Basically, we’re all a mess,” he said. “But give us a break and we will sort ourselves out.”

Two months later, in December 2015, they performed together for the very last time on the finale of The X Factor, which had catapulted them to stardom five years earlier. It was, in fact, the end.

Ever since the news of Liam’s tragic death on October 16, when he fell from the third floor of the lavish CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, it’s been hard not to think of that quote he felt would always define him – except now, in a very different way.

Liam was always the sensible, responsible one

To me, the real tragedy is that amid all the salacious news and feverish social media speculation, Liam is now being remembered for the circumstances surrounding that fatal fall.

Yet, the lurid rumours concerning his final days do not reflect the Liam Payne I spent time with.

When I first met the newly minted 1D midway through their X Factor journey in 2010, they were the classic mix of talented, good-looking teenagers who knew they were finally on their way to fame and fortune.

Little did they realise they would become known all over the world, and be worth an estimated £110million – but everything comes at a cost.

A few years later, in November 2013, I flew to Sydney to interview the band on tour.

It was no picnic – their days started at 6am and ended at 1am. They were the biggest thing to hit Australia since The Beatles took it by storm in 1964. But they weren’t exactly having the best time.

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Newly minted 1D

Due to the fan hysteria, the boys were trapped in their hotel rooms whenever they weren’t performing.

Liam told me that Zayn and Niall had gone to get a tattoo at 2am (when many of the fans had finally gone home), and he and Louis had been driven miles out to a remote beach to learn to surf.

“There was just one guy on the beach, but he had a phone. Within 20 minutes, there were about 200 people. We had to get back in the car,” he said.

It’s hard to reconcile the Liam I knew then with the tortured man he became.

Deep down, Liam – who was dating American influencer Kate Cassidy, 25, at the time of his death – was always the sensible and responsible one.

He even earned the nickname “Daddy Directioner”, as he was always keeping his four band mates, who he called his “brothers”, in check.

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He was the one who, in the band’s early days, told me that he’d never fall prey to sex, drugs and the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, because: “I’ve only got one working kidney, so I can’t even drink. I’m a lightweight.”

He was sweet-natured, funny and analytical. I’ll never forget him telling me in Australia in 2013, about being snapped in the gym while using the running machine, by a girl in full make-up running alongside him.

“I didn’t even notice her till I got off,” he laughed.

His girlfriend in those days was Sophia Smith, who went to the same school as Liam, in his home town of Wolverhampton.

I also remember him also being besotted by little Lux, the toddler daughter of the band’s hair and make-up artist, Lou Teasdale.

“I definitely want to have kids,” he told me. “I think being a dad is the coolest thing.”

He and Cheryl wanted to give Bear as normal a life as possible

It was not the average statement from a teen pop star.

In 2017, Liam did become a dad, to his beloved son Bear, from his two-year relationship with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.

And her pleas for privacy in the wake of Liam’s death reflect how keen both of them have always been to give Bear, now seven, as normal a life as possible.

I was stunned to hear of his death last month. My first thoughts were for his family, for Cheryl and his young son. It breaks my heart that this once down-to-earth, funny, talented kid is no longer with us.

Like millions of others, I feel sad that he never got the chance to sort himself out.

There were signs he was trying – with negotiations ongoing for a tour next year, and he’d finished filming a new Netflix show called Building The Band, alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland, two months before his death.

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With time, professional help and a good team around him, I’m sure he would have become the man he wanted to be – like his dad Geoff, who Liam described to me as: “Just a proper good, salt-of-the-earth kind of bloke you’d want to be.”

At the height of Liam’s fame, his mum Karen took a life-size cut-out of her youngest child home from a promotional shoot, because she missed having the actual one at home so much.

“She thinks she’s lost me to millions of other fans and to fame,” he told me back in 2013. “But she’ll never really lose me.”

Heartbreakingly, she did. We all did.

But I hope Liam will be remembered for so much more than his tragic end.

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Tributes to Liam Payne

SHOCKED fans, former co-workers, loved ones and friends flooded social media with sad tributes to Liam Payne after news of his death emerged.

Harry Styles’ mum Anne was among the first from One Direction’s camp to share her reaction, posting a photo of Liam and writing ‘Just a boy…’ alongside a broken heart emoji.

Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden shared an image of the pair together with the words: “Such an awful tragedy.

“Sending love to his family and all those who loved him.”

X Factor star Olly Murs told fans he was “devastated” and “lost for words”.

He wrote on social media: “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 x”.

Liam Gallagher said he was “very sad” and told his followers on X: “Life is precious Kids, you only get to do it once, go easy.”

Former X Factor presenter Dermot O’Leary has also expressed his shock and spoke on This Morning.

He 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, polite, grateful, and was always humble.”

BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball reacted to the “devastating news” on her show and told fans she hugged her own son Woody tight this morning.

JLS band member Marvin Humes reflected on his memories with the singer, sharing: “I first met Liam in 2008 with the JLS boys whilst auditioning for X Factor..he was 14 years old..

“We instantly clicked and looked at him as a little brother..that year it worked out for us but not for him and then 2 years later he went back to audition and One Direction was born..the rest is history..

“Absolutely heartbroken by the tragic news..Liam you wanted to be a global superstar and you did it bro..just can’t believe that things have ended this way..it’s shocking..my thoughts and prayers are with all your family and friends brother..RIP.”

Niall Horan’s brother Greg shared an emotional tribute to Liam, praising him as a “top young man”.

He added: “You will be forever missed. Liam, words can’t describe how much I want to grab my brother and mind him now while the world shows their memories of you and him and the boys.

“My heart goes out to your family parents and sisters and your son Bear and your 1D brothers.

“10th October we met and we started out that evening as 5 families into one big one 1D family thank you for all the laughs bro watch down on all your family and mind them lots of love kiddo x x x 1D 4 LIFE x x x”

German DJ Anton Zaslavski, otherwise known as Zedd, has taken to X with a devastated statement.

The producer, who worked with Liam on his 2017 hit Get Low, wrote: “RIP Liam… I can’t believe this is real…absolutely heartbreaking…”

American singer, Charlie Puth, who was friends with Liam and also collaborated with him on a song called Bedroom Floor, has posted a series of Instagram stories dedicated to him.

Alongside photos of the two of them together in their younger days, Charlie wrote: “I am in shock right now. Liam was always so kind to me.

“He was one of the first major artists I got to work with. I can not believe he is gone…

“I am so upset right now, may he rest in peace. I am so sorry…”

Irish singer duo Jedward also took to social media, saying: “RIP Liam Payne. Condolences to friends and family.”

In another tweet, they added: “Sending strength to Cheryl and his son Bear. And all the One direction Family. RIP Liam Payne.”

American media personality Paris Hilton shared: “So upsetting to hear the news of Liam Payne passing. Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend.”

ITV weather presenter Alex Beresford shared a news video about Liam’s tragic death on Instagram, adding: “Can’t believe this! RIP Liam.”

Meanwhile Love Island star Molly Marsh penned: “I’m so taken aback, rest in peace.”

James Cordon also paid his own tribute, describing the star as a “loving and kind soul”.

The Gavin and Stacey actor wrote on Instagram: “Talking about Liam in the past tense is utterly heart-breaking.

“I will treasure the moments I got to spend with him. My thoughts are with his family today x.”

Payne previously appeared on Cordon’s The Late Late Show in America.

Former Little Mix star Jade Thirwall – who won X Factor with her bandmates one year after One Direction took part – described him as “the first friend I made in this industry”.

She said: “We fell out of touch as the years went by, but back in 2008 he was the first friend I made in this industry.

“Both of us so young, so ambitious, both hoping we’d ‘make it’. I hope you are at peace now”.

Camila Cabello described his death as a “tragedy” and said he “made an impression” on her when she was a young girl.