Zayn Malik pays tribute to his ‘brother’ Liam Payne as he performs for the first time since One Direction star’s death He says ….

Zayn Malik paid tribute to his ‘brother’ Liam Payne as he returned to the stage on Saturday for the first time since the death of his former bandmate.

The singer, 31, who rescheduled some concert dates in the wake of his tragic passing, performed at Leeds 02 Academy as part of his Stairway To The Sky tour.

Liam died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina, with his One Direction bandmates seen in public together for the first time in nine years as they paid their respects at his funeral on Wednesday.

Opening his gig at the weekend, Zayn stood in front of a backdrop which read: ‘Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro,’ and a red heart.

The message, which has been widely shared on social media, left the crowd in tears.

Zayn’s first ever solo tour was set to begin in San Francisco on October 23, the US dates have now been postponed to January, and a Edinburgh show, which was meant to take place on the same day as Liam’s funeral has been moved to December 8.
The singer, 31, performed at Leeds 02 Academy as part of his Stairway To The Sky tour in front of a backdrop which read: ‘Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro,’ and a red heart
Former bandmates Harry Styles, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Louis Tomlinson, 32, and Zayn arrived separately at the church for a poignant final send off.

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Harry dressed in black, pulled up to the funeral in a BMW, while Niall attended with his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, with Zayn Malik arriving shortly after Louis.

Zayn was the first to quit One Direction in August 2015, citing ‘stress’, after withdrawing from the group’s world tour. The band officially announced its split in January 2016, breaking the hearts of millions of fans across the globe.

Last week he revealed that his gigs set to take place next week in Edinburgh, had been rescheduled due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.

Sharing a poster of the new dates through his tour management’s socials, an accompanying statement read: ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances Zayn Stairway To The Sky Edinburgh show original scheduled for November 20 has been rescheduled for December 8.