Boyzone star shares poignant message about ‘vulnerable’ young singers after Liam Payne’s death-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

Boyzone’s Mikey Graham has paid tribute to Liam Payne after he died at the age of 31 (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

Boyzone star Mikey Graham has shared a call for action after the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne.

Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on October 16. His cause of death has not been revealed.

Fans have taken to social media in disbelief with their tributes, while others in Argentina are holding a vigil outside the hotel where he died.

Celebrities have also paid tribute to Payne, with X Factor stars speaking out and Harry Styles’ mum declaring her heartbreak at the news.

Meanwhile, Boyzone star Mikey posted some poignant words about the music industry’s treatment of young singers.

‘Rip Liam Payne. Such tragic news,’ he began, adding: ‘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.

Payne fell from a hotel balcony on October 16 (Picture: Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Mikey has called for young singer to get help after Liam Payne’s death (Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

‘Fame can be very damaging especially in today’s world. Lots of money. Nobody to help. Lots of yes people. Nobody honest.’

X Factor star X Rebecca Ferguson has previously demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the music industry and called for better protection for artists, while Katie Waissel left the industry after saying the show ‘ruined [her] life’.

Previously, Fremantle Media said it had ‘robust measures in place on the X Factor to ensure contestants were supported with no time limit on aftercare once the show had aired’.

The police were called to the scene at Hotel Casa Sur after being ‘informed of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol’.

Alberto Crescenti, head of the Buenos Aires medical emergency services SAME, spoke on the television channel TN: ‘Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.’

Payne is survived by a seven-year-old son, named Bear, who he welcomed with Girls Aloud star Cheryl.

At just 16, Payne found stratospheric fame when he joined One Direction in 2010 as he, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson formed a boy band on The X Factor after auditioning solo.

Liam Payne shot to fame at the age of 16 alongside Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan (Picture: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage)

They went on to become one of the most famous boy bands in the world and with hits including What Makes You Beautiful, Story of My Life and Night Changes they triggered Beatles-like mania among fans.

‘I was very confused about fame when it all happened,’ Payne told the BBC in 2019, ‘and learning to be a person outside of your job was difficult. But now I feel like I get it. I’m a lucky boy.’

In the same interview Payne recalled how shortly after he released Strip That Down – his first solo endeavour after One Direction in 2017 – he gave up drinking.

‘There were a couple of very dark years of me going through extreme peril with different mental health things,’ he said. ‘I just didn’t know where I was going to end up.’

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