EMERGENCY EDITION: One Direction heartthrob Liam Payne has died aged just 31, an inevitable tragedy caused by the evil music industry
I saw up close how there were lots of yes men and enablers, but very few people who were able to ensure the Wolverhampton lad’s health came first
Dan Wootton Outspoken is pleased to partner with Gundry MD – Dr Gundry has a history of supporting those aged over 50 from making huge mistake for their health. Find out what those mistakes are today by clicking here.
This Outspoken Substack is now the exclusive home of my original journalism and columns. With the corrupt MSM now controlled by billionaire corporate overlords and dark establishment forces, by contrast I am no longer owned by anybody other than you. Subscribing allows you to read all the posts exclusively for paid members, access to the full archive, the ability to comment on articles and engage in debate with me, join my regular chats on the Substack app, and send me direct messages. In these dark times of censorship and a crackdown on free speech, it also means you are supporting an independent media revolution, for which I will be forever grateful.
Fourteen years ago, in the modest canteen of Wembley’s now-destroyed Fountain Studios, a 16-year-old young man with a distinctive Black Country dialect firmly shook my hand and made clear he was the leader of The X Factor’s exciting new manufactured boy band One Direction who could get things done.
Liam Payne was wise beyond his years at that time – I used to joke that he was the Gary Barlow of the rambunctious boyband: Serious, studious and focussed on songwriting (he was responsible, alongside Louis Tomlinson, for so many 1D hits).
Sadly, as is so often the case, worldwide superstardom, more money than he ever required, virtually any woman he wanted and constant adulation from fans turned out to be anything but a dream for the working class Wolverhampton lad.
I travelled the world with 1D, as they became known, and what started as a novelty soon became suffocating and toxic.
In Bogota, Colombia, it was impossible for the band members to leave their hotel or even open their curtains, as thousands of fans with camera phones gathered outside.
Any sort of “normal” existence was a distant memory and, yes, things turned pretty dark.
LOTS OF YES MEN AND ENABLERS
Once Zayn Malik had exited the band, tensions grew, and it hit Liam harder than the others.
In the evil world of music where money is all that matters, there were lots of yes men and enablers, and very few people who were able to ensure Liam’s health came first.
It’s a toxic combination because, just when he needed to be helped, Liam, who was still a very young man, had all the power.
My belief is that at around this time hard drugs first became a factor in his life.
And in 2015, the issues got so bad that a One Direction gig in Belfast was cancelled at the last minute because Liam was unable to go on stage.
I am not betraying any confidences here; Liam was incredibly open about all of his problems and the difficult side of boy band life.
Indeed, last night, I heard a Guardian journalist on Sly News predictably try and blame Liam’s troubles on the tabloid press and gossip columns, which just wasn’t true.
Liam was an open book – he loved being in the media. He didn’t choose to keep secrets.
That was a stark contrast from his far more private bandmates like Harry Styles, who had been surrounded by a retinue of powerful showbiz figures like Ben Winston, James Corden, Barlow and various entertainment executives who had decided he was the chosen member of the band to experience solo success.
“I SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO SO MANY SHOWS”
One year after their break-up, as he initially claimed the title of most commercially successful solo artist of the band, I sat down again with Liam to talk about what had really happened in the final days of 1D.
In light of his tragic decline over the past couple of years, I found reading his answer chilling, where he made clear that the constant touring forced upon him had been irresponsible and pushed him to the brink mentally.
“I shouldn’t have been able to do as many shows as we did, if I’m honest about it, if I’m brutally honest about it,” he admitted to me. “Going out and putting that happy smile on my face and singing the songs, honestly, sometimes it was like putting on one of those costumes, going out there and, underneath the costume, people don’t really see what’s going on.”
On the cancelled gig, he explained: “I let it get to me that day. I wasn’t in a good place. And unfortunately, I was going through a rough time and I let it get to me a little bit too much. That was it. The more we did, I just don’t think we stopped and celebrated enough how great things were and I think that’s what got on top of us in the end.”
For a period, his unlikely relationship with Cheryl Cole and the birth of their only child Bear seemed to provide the anchor to a happy post-1D life.
Before Bear turned one, he told me: “Having a steady base at home is the best thing ever and Bear is such a lovely, happy, bubbly child. Chilled parents, chilled baby. It’s important for me and Cheryl to have our diaries in tune with each other so we can make sure our family time is prioritised. We’re doing little two-week stints away from each other but it was the toughest thing leaving Bear this time. He’s a proper little character now, bless him, and he’s a mini-me. I get back and he’s roaming around in his roamer. I say to Cheryl, ‘You see it every day, but you wouldn’t believe the changes in him, when I come home’. I was holding his little hand and I wanted to cry a little bit. It was really tough.”
When Liam and Cheryl’s relationship came to a very rocky end (they tried to make it work for a long time), there was a further decline.
In fact, I’m told that in recent months Liam had not been able to see Cheryl and his son much, which must have been heartbreaking.
HORRIFYING END
Which brings us to another non-descript hotel, this time in Argentina, where Liam had, for some reason, decided to stay on, despite the departure of his girlfriend to the US.
Inevitably, what happened will emerge. After all, TMZ unfathomably made the decision to publish pictures of Liam’s dead body, complete with the distinctive tattoos of which he was so proud.
It is horrifying to think that article will be the way so many of his friends and loved ones, possibly even his bandmates, found out about his death.
I openly admit to playing my own part in the X Factor star system. Not for any financial gain, of course, but because it was the biggest TV show in the country and the demand for stories about its judges and contestants was incessant.
It’s somewhat ironic that every X Factor contestant after 2010 wanted to replicate the success of One Direction, not knowing that the loss of an ordinary life sometimes just isn’t worth it.
So-called Directioners were like nothing else I’d encountered during my time in journalism – many times I was on the receiving end of their ire for one reason or another.
But I appreciated their loyalty and my heart breaks over the fact they will never get the full 1D reunion Liam always craved.
A few years ago he insisted to me: “I know it’s a definite thing that will happen. I’ve got a weird feeling it might be sooner than we think. It could be a really, really great show – we can each go out and do our own thing and then come back together. We saw that at Take That shows with Robbie Williams – it’s like five concerts in one. We could feature two people doing one song and two doing something different. Whether those things happen is completely up to everybody else. I’m proud of everything we’re doing.”
In the hour after Liam’s death was announced, Boyzone member Mikey Graham wrote: “RIP Liam Payne. Such tragic news. I think it would be a wise move for record companies to have psychologists on their books from now on in his memory as a duty of care for the vulnerability of their young talent. Fame can be very damaging especially in today’s world. Lots of money. Nobody to help. Lots of yes people. Nobody honest 🙏🏻”
Perhaps it is ever thus.
But there’s a reason that after witnessing up close the downfall of Liam, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and so many more, that any time a friend or family member asked me if someone they know should audition for the X Factor or any other reality show, my answer was always immediately: “DO NOT DO IT – EVER! It’s just not worth it.”
I’m sure Liam’s family members, who were always so proud of the lad, were wishing they’d given him the same advice as a 14-year-old talented young singer with stars in his eyes.
I NEED YOUR HELP…
This Substack and my new daily Outspoken live show (weekdays 5pm UK time/midday ET/9am PT on YouTube and Rumble) is truly independent. I am committed to exposing the relentless lies of the MSM and politicians.
I am now free of the constraints of working for captured billionaires or Ofcommunist-regulated platforms, but to continue this fearless reporting and commentary, I do need your support.
Subscribing allows you to read all the posts exclusively for paid members, access to the full archive, the ability to comment on articles and engage in debate with me, join my regular chats on the Substack app, and send me direct messages.
If you are already one of our growing army of paid subscribers, you have my full gratitude. But if you are able to support the cause by upgrading, founding members of the Outspoken community get the opportunity for one-on-one Zoom calls with me and personal videos twice a year.
I know you are aware of how much free speech and independent thinking is now in peril, but I am determined to build up Outspoken to challenge the MSM. If you can help become part of this important movement, I will be forever grateful.
We must oppose Two Tier Keir Starmer’s chilling mission creep to shut down debate with every fibre of our being.
Thank you Dan, for sharing your insight on the time you spent with Liam. I’m in my 50’s and know very little about him, in fact I’d struggle to name all the members of 1D, but nonetheless I’m saddened that he died far from his home and family and even more sad for his loved ones, especially his little boy.
They say that there’s a price to be paid for everything in life, and it strikes me that fame, has a very high price indeed. Money, adulation, the lifestyle, all the trappings of success, but at the end of the day, I have to wonder how many would trade it all in, because it doesn’t look like it brings much happiness.
It is very sad, in some ways he reminds me of Robbie Williams who couldnt handle the fame at such a young age. There just doesnt seem to be the support there for youngsters and all the managers seem to worry about is the money they make off the bands. May Liam be at peace now.