During the opening night of his first tour since Liam Payne's death, his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan paid homage to him during the opening show of Dinner Party: Live on Tour.

After Horan debuted “End of an Era” from his Dinner Party album, he played a message from Payne. It was incredibly emotional, as Horan stood in the shadows as Payne's voice played over the arena's speakers.

Niall Horan played Liam Payne's voice following his “End of an Era” performance during his ‘Dinner Party’ tour in Birmingham. pic.twitter.com/ZKPqmPWf5q

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 23, 2026

“We thought something might happen, but never anything like this,” said Payne, seemingly about his time in One Direction in the recording. “I’m always trying to remind myself of where I [came] from and where I’ve managed to get to in my life. It’s amazing, really.”

This was the opening night of Horan's Dinner Party: Live on Tour. The tour will consist of 55 shows across three legs from Sep. 22 to May 29, 2027.

The European leg of the tour will end on Nov. 16. Horan will take it to Australia for four shows before embarking on a North American leg.

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Dinner Party: Live on Tour is in support of Horan's fourth studio album, Dinner Party. The album was released on June 5, 2026. All four living members of One Direction — Horan (Dinner Party), Harry Styles (Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.), Zayn Malik (Konnakol), and Louis Tomlinson (How Did I Get Here?) — released albums in 2026.

When did One Direction's Liam Payne die?

Liam Payne of One Direction singing during 2015 concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Payne died on Oct. 16, 2024, in Argentina. He was there with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and died after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel.

He was best known for his time in One Direction. Payne was part of the group for its entire run from 2010 to 2016, releasing five studio albums with the boy band.

As a solo artist, Payne released one album, LP1, in 2019. It features hit songs like “Strip That Down” and “Get Low” and collaborations with the likes of J Balvin, Quavo, and A Boogie wit da Hoodie.