Harry Styles and Liam Payne ensured the flame of their friendship never went out, even though there were some tragic situations over the years.
The One Direction stars continued to support each other throughout their solo careers after the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
As Harry Styles celebrates his 31st birthday today, we look back at his time in the band and friendship with Liam Payne.
Where it all began
One Direction was officially formed on The X Factor, when the judges saw potential in all the band members who had auditioned individually. Nicole Scherzinger was the first to pick the members of the boyband, starting with Niall Horan’s picture.
She later moved Harry and Louis Tomlinson over as the four judges debated who would form the band.
Footage of the history-making moment came after Liam claimed the group had been formed around him. He told Logan Paul on his podcast: “From what I’ve heard, part of the reason One Direction was made was because of Simon’s promise to me that, “In two years, I’ll make this work for you.”
“So he started with my face, and then worked around the rest… I was the honorary member of One Direction. He told me that story himself at his house.”
However, footage of Nicole picking Niall first was shared shortly after and Liam was mistaken.
16-year-old Liam, Harry and Niall, as well as 17-year-old Zayn Malik, and 18-year-old Louis Tomlinson went on to become one of the UK’s most successful boy groups.
Pranks on One Direction tour
The teenagers made the most out of their time after X Factor wrapped up.
Three years later, at a London concert in April 2013, Liam pulled down Harry’s trousers in front of a live audience.
He chose his moment during their hit song What Makes You Beautiful and ambushed him from behind.
Harry grinned and pulled his trousers back up, not missing a beat in the track.
What a profesional.
Liam Payne and Harry Styles’ friendship rang true when he supported him through tragedy
In 2017, a year after the band decided to part ways, Harry’s stepfather Robin Twist died after a long cancer battle.
Harry was close to his stepdad, acting as the best man at his wedding to the singer’s mum Anne Cox.
Liam paid tribute to Robin on the day after finding out.
He wrote: “Harry my heart really goes out to you such an extremely sad day for us all who knew Robin.
“What a kind, gentle and beautiful soul, a true rarity to find in today’s world. Sometimes they really do take the best of us far too soon.”
Happy to see each other
A few months later, the duo bumped into each other. Liam Payne opened up about the ‘rough time’ Harry Styles had been through lately, even though they hadn’t seen each other it was clear their friendship hadn’t run it’s course.
He later told The Sun: “He’s been through a rough time recently. God bless him, he was really happy to see me. The funniest thing was we didn’t really talk business.
“Dunkirk was out and all this was happening, and we just gave each other a big hug.
“We didn’t say much but you could tell we were really happy to see each other. It was like touching home base.”
On stage together again
The duo grabbed their microphones once more to perform at the CapitalFM Jingle Bell Ball in 2019.
Liam later told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live: “We spoke about a number of things.
“It was good to see him, he was pretty much the same boy that I left him.”
They still kept in touch too, as two years later the dad-of-one revealed during an Instagram Live they had a ‘lovely’ conversation.
“He called me because he has a sixth sense for if I’m struggling or if one of us is in trouble, I feel like,” Liam said at the time. “I spoke to him, and it was a really lovely catch up actually. And I’ve got a lot of love for the man. He’s great, he’s really, really great.”
If that doesn’t say a lot about Harry Styles and Liam Payne’s friendship, not much else will.
Success never got in between Harry Styles and Liam Payne’s forever friendship
Harry stormed the Grammys in 2023, winning three awards on the night. His album Harry’s House was recognised in the Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered album, Non-Classical at the coveted awards show.
The 31-year-old gushed over his big night on social media.
He penned: “Wow … this image is really something to wake up to and when you write music like you do Harry you deserve every millisecond of that moment looking down smiling at the trophy you’ve earned.
“God bless you brother congratulations.”
He also praised his fellow 1D star on the Diary of a CEO podcast in 2021: “We’ve all had our success in completely different areas, and also musically, we didn’t really go down the same route. I think Harry’s done amazing.
“I mean, first album he had the one song off which is really really well and then [on] his second album, he found himself.”
Harry pays tribute after Liam’s death
The tragic news of Liam’s passing shocked fans across the world in October 2024, after he fell from a hotel balcony.
“I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it,” Harry wrote on Instagram.
“Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.
“My heart breaks for Karen, Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear, and all those around the world who loved him, as I did.”
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