Liam Payne: A teenager thrust into global boyband mania before solo artist fame

At 16, Payne became part of a group that would become one of The X Factor’s biggest success stories — One Direction
Liam Payne: A teenager thrust into global boyband mania before solo artist fame

Liam Payne has died aged 31 (Ben Birchall/PA)

Liam Payne’s journey to stardom began when he was just 14 years old at his lesser-known first audition for The X Factor.

The English teenager reached the judges’ house stage and no further in 2008, but came back two years later as Simon Cowell had asked.

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