Louis Tomlinson has vowed to be an uncle to the son of his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne after the singer died aged 31, promising to tell him “stories of how amazing his dad was”.

Payne, who rose to fame with the boy band on The X Factor, died after falling from a third floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires Wednesday.

He leaves behind his seven-year-old son named Bear who he shared with his former partner, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.

 

“I want you to know that if Bear ever needs me I will be the uncle he needs in his life and tell him stories of how amazing his dad was,” Tomlinson said in a post on Instagram.

Payne died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” as a result of the hotel fall, a post-mortem examination report said.

A press release from Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No 16 said it would be investigating the incident as an “inconclusive death” after the report.

In a statement issued via a spokeswoman, Payne’s family told the PA news agency they were “heartbroken” and added: “Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.”

Payne’s One Direction bandmates said they are “completely devastated” and will miss the singer “terribly”.

A joint statement signed by Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Tomlinson said the “memories we shared with him will be treasured forever”, adding they will be taking “some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother”.

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The band toured across the globe and had five chart-topping albums, as well as four number-one singles in the UK chart with tracks including What Makes You Beautiful and Little Things.

The band, without Malik, appeared on The Late Late Show’s Carpool Karaoke segment with James Corden, raking in in more than 200 million views on YouTube.

Gavin And Stacey co-creator Corden said in a social media post that Payne “was such a loving and kind soul”, adding: “I will treasure the moments I got to spend with him.”

Payne, who was born in Wolverhampton, released his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the songs Polaroid and Strip That Down featuring Quavo.

One of his most famous songs, For You, was a collaboration with the singer Rita Ora for the 2018 film Fifty Shades Freed.

Hours after his death, Ora sang their song while an image of the pair was projected on to the screen behind her during a performance in Osaka, Japan