One Direction stars mourn as Liam Payne laid to rest | The Express Tribune

Former One Direction star Liam Payne was laid to rest on Wednesday in a funeral attended by family and friends, one month after his death at the age of 31. As reported by the BBC, the private service took place at St Mary's church in Amersham in Buckinghamshire, north-west of London.

Ahead of the service, garlands and floral wreaths were arranged outside the entrance to the church. Among the mourners present were Payne's former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, as well as Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy. Payne's former partner and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, with whom he shares a seven-year-old son, Bear, also came to pay her respects.

Other notable faces included television presenter and actor James Corden and music mogul Simon Cowell, who created the reality TV show The X Factor on which One Direction were formed in 2010. Cowell could be seen comforting Payne's parents.

Mourners fell silent as Payne's coffin arrived on a horse-drawn carriage bearing floral tributes spelling 'daddy' and 'son'. Other floral tributes at the funeral included one in the shape of a set of 10-pin bowling pins and ball, a reference to one of Payne's favourite pastimes.

Following the service, four pallbearers carried the coffin from the church, followed by Payne's parents and Cheryl. A small crowd of locals were also gathered outside. However, as the funeral was a private affair, fans largely stayed away out of respect for Payne's family and friends, having been reminded earlier on a Reddit One Direction group, "Memorials are for fans, funerals are for family."

Payne died on October 16 after falling from the third floor of a hotel room in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. In a short statement following his death, his family said: "We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we'll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul."

One of pop's most recognisable faces, Payne rose to fame on The X Factor in 2010 as One Direction came into being. The pop act came third on the reality show but went on to conquer the British music landscape as one of the nation's biggest boybands. Despite performing together as a group for only five years, One Direction sold 70 million records, with four UK number one singles and four number one albums.

After the band split up, all five members pursued their solo careers. Payne went on to achieve success with his tracks Strip That Down – co-written by Ed Sheeran – and Bedroom Floor. His last single, Teardrops, was released earlier this year. Despite his success, Payne's takeaway memories of his time with One Direction were less than positive. In an earlier interview with The Telegraph, he described his boyband career as "cabin fever" and said, "I can remember when there were 10,000 people outside our hotel. We couldn't go anywhere. It was just gig to hotel, gig to hotel. And you couldn't sleep, because they'd still be outside."

Payne's former One Direction bandmates poured in their tributes following the news of his death. "I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life but I'm really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye," Tomlinson wrote in a statement from his Instagram account.

Meanwhile, Malik 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 and say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you dearly."

Payne is survived by his parents, two older sisters and his son Bear.