Liam Payne: Sheffield fans mourn One Direction star with letters and tributes taped to city centre memorial
Sheffield fans gathered in Sheffield city centre yesterday to mourn One Direction star Liam Payne.
The Sheffield Covid Memorial is today covered in letters, poems and photos dedicated to the 31-year-old pop idol following a vigil in Barker’s Pool last night (October 20).
The willow tree sculpture is surrounded by flowers and candles, and waterproof notes have been taped onto the structure.
Two 17-year-old fans - who would have been aged around three when Liam and the boys of One Direction rose to stardom - were sat by memorial when The Star visited on Monday morning.
One of them said: “We grew up with them - we used to have One Direction parties. He was our childhood.
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“My mum texted me last week as I was going to bed saying ‘Liam Payne’s died,’ I just couldn’t believe it.
“I’m heartbroken. I had a cry last night even.
“I hope they don’t take the tributes down. If they could leave it until after his funeral I would like that.”
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They are not the only ones - photos show how at around 9pm last night at least a dozen fans were still gathered at Barker’s Pool for the memorial, which reportedly started at around 3pm. Letters covering entire sides of A4 paper have been taped to the sculpture by mourners.
One such letter reads: “Liam, I hope you know the impact your kind soul and brilliant music has had. Your songs were there for me when it felt like no one else was.
“Thank you for all of the joy you gave this world. I’m sorry it failed you. We love you 4eva, Grace B.”
Another reads: “As I’m sure is the same for a lot of people around my age, One Direction was my entire childhood. It made me feel like I was doing something right because I actually loved something that other people loved. I felt accepted and understood for the first time ever.”
Liam Payne died on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his third floor hotel room in Buenos Aires in Argentina.
The music star rose to fame as part of One Direction, which was assembled on the talent show X Factor with Liam, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan.