by Mick the Ram

Family and friends of One Direction’s Liam Payne gathered today (20 November) to say their goodbyes at the singer’s funeral.

The 31-year-old fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires last month, apparently under the influence of a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.

Amongst those in attendance were his former bandmates, as well as Simon Cowell, the man who was responsible for bringing the four teenage boys together on his show the X Factor.

Also at the service, which took place in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, were his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and his former partner Cheryl, with whom he has a seven-year-old son, Bear, and on his horse-drawn carriage bringing his coffin to the church, were flowers bearing the words “son” and “daddy”.

A scattering of locals stood nearby, but largely fans paid him the respect of observing his families wishes for a private service in north-west of London.

Prosecutors in Argentina are conducting an investigation into the tragic incident and announced earlier this month that three people had been charged in connection with his death.  

Huge respect from fellow performers

Liam Payne had risen to worldwide fame alongside Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan back in 2010 and together they had remarkable success with hit after hit and establishing an army of young fans.

Liam was always regarded as the “sensible” one, and was highly thought of within the industry.

His shock death brought tributes from all across the globe, but it was celebrities closer to home who filled the small church to pay their respects.

Support for those closest

As well as the One Direction boys, his former partner Cheryl’s ex Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh arrived to offer support to their friend.

His girlfriend and what has been reported soon to be fiancee was accompanied by Damian Hurley, son of Elizabeth Hurley.

The US influencer had been with the singer up until two days before the tragic event occurred.

Family’s tribute

At the conclusion of the service four pallbearers carried the coffin from St Mary’s Church, followed by his parents and Cheryl.

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.”

An autopsy confirmed the singer had suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries.

Generous towards charities

The order of service for his funeral reflected how close to his heart charity work was, with the family requesting that any donations be sent to Great Ormond Street Hospital, in Liam’s name.

He was known to have given huge sums of money to sick children over the course of his career.

Enormous popularity

During their five-year career, One Direction sold 70 million records, with four UK number one singles and four number one albums.

Fans have been holding their own vigils regularly ever since the shocking news broke on 16 October and especially in his UK home town of Wolverhampton.