5 Seconds of Summer have paid an emotional tribute to Liam Payne following his tragic death aged 31 on Wednesday.
The One Direction singer plunged 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, prompting a wave of tributes from across the showbiz world.
And now the Australian boyband have revealed they are ‘heartbroken’ as they thanked the star for the ‘influence you had on our lives’.
5 Seconds Of Summer toured with One Direction as their support act back in 2013 on their Take Me Home tour.
The collaboration propelled the new group into the limelight and members Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin described their time together as a ‘honour’ as they wrote: ‘we will never forget your presence in our lives’.
5 Seconds Of Summer have revealed they are ‘heartbroken’ as they paid tribute to Liam Payne after singer’s shock death on Wednesday
The One Direction singer plunged 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, prompting a wave of tributes from across the showbiz world
Sharing a group picture of both boybands together they penned: ‘We are heartbroken. We love you, Liam, and we will never forget the influence you had on our lives.
‘You truly believed in us and for that we are forever grateful. We don’t know if we thanked you enough.
‘You were always so kind to us. It was an honor to begin our journey with you, we will never forget your presence in our lives.
‘There was such a bright light in you, we always saw that. We are so devastated that this world put that light out.
‘We hope you’ll always be singing up there. With all of our love, Calum, Ashton, Luke and Michael.’
Liam’s One Direction bandmates broke their silence following his tragic death on Thursday by releasing an emotional statement.
In a joint statement signed from ‘Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry’, they said they were ‘completely devastated’.
‘In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,’ they said.
Sharing a group picture of both boybands together they penned: ‘We are heartbroken. We love you, Liam, and we will never forget the influence you had on our lives’
5 Seconds Of Summer toured with One Direction as their support act back in 2013 on their Take Me Home tour (pictured 2014)
Niall Horan, 31, the final band member to pay tribute, said in his heartbreaking statement that he didn’t know ‘our recent hug was our final goodbye’
He penned on Instagram: ‘I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real’
‘But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.
‘The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.
‘We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.’
The band have all separately also released their own tributes.
Styles wrote on Instagram that he was ‘truly devastated’ and will ‘miss him always’.
‘His greatest joy was making other people happy and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.
‘Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious.
‘He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.
‘My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who knew him and loved him, as I did.’
Tomlinson said in a separate emotional tribute that he was ‘really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye’.
He posted a picture on his Instagram page of the two of them on stage with Payne lovingly putting his arm over Tomlinson’s shoulder.
Tomlinson said he would be an uncle to Payne’s son Bear if he ‘ever needs me’ and ‘tell him stories of how amazing his dad was’.
‘I’m so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I’d have with you for life,’ he wrote.
‘I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be.
‘I wish I got chance to say goodbye and tell you one more time how much I loved you.
Harry posted a photo of Liam on stage performing to a huge arena of fans alongside his heartbreaking tribute
The singer took to Instagram to share his own emotional message to his pal, who he described as ‘warm, supportive and incredibly loving’
Harry (pictured with Liam in 2013) wrote: ‘My heart breaks for Karen Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear and all those around the world who knew and loved him as I did’
In a statement shared to Instagram, Louis said he was ‘beyond devastated’ by his friend’s death (pictured together in 2015)
Louis also shared snaps of the pair as they larked about together on stage saying he would always be Liam’s ‘big brother’
‘Payno, my boy, one of my best friends, my brother, I love you mate. Sleep well X.’
Malik said he had been talking out loud to Payne ‘hoping you can hear me’.
In his own heart wrenching tribute, he said he had ‘lost a brother when you left us’.
‘And I can’t explain you you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly,’ he wrote.
‘I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever. There is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated. I hope that wherevere you are right now you are good and are at peace and you know how loved you are. Love you bro.’
Niall, 31, the final band member to pay tribute, said in his heartbreaking statement that he didn’t know ‘our recent hug was our final goodbye’.
He penned on Instagram: ‘I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real.
‘Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious He was the brightest in ever room and always made everyone feel happy and secure.
‘All the laughs we have over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness.
‘We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.
Another selection of photos showed how close the pair were
In a statement shared to Instagram, Louis said he was ‘beyond devastated’ by his friend’s death, and said that he will ‘always be an uncle’ for the late singer’s eight-year-old son Bear
In his tribute, Zayn wrote: ‘I lost a brother when you left us and can’t explain to you what I’d give to just give you a hug one last time’
The singer, who Liam had seen in concert in Argentina just days before he died, continued: ‘I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.
‘My love and condolences go out to Geoff, Karen, Ruth, Nicola and of course his son Bear.
‘Thank you for everything, Payno. Love you brother. Nialler’
Liam plunged 45ft from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina’s capital on Wednesday, before medics confirmed his death.
Payne had arrived in South America with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy on September 30, staying in Argentina for two weeks after only planning to spend ‘five days’ there .
Police were called to the hotel following reports of an ‘aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol’.
Shortly afterwards, workers heard a loud sound in the hotel’s courtyard before the Wolverhampton-born singer’s body was discovered just after 5pm local time.
Shocked fans gathered outside after police cordoned off the area with forensic investigators seen entering and exiting in white protective suits and blue gloves.
The star was said to have been ‘acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’, according to local media.
