Harry Styles has paid a subtle tribute to his late One Direction bandmate Liam Payne after announcing his fourth studio album on Thursday evening.
The singer, 31, who was in the boyband with Liam for around six years, honoured his friend in a sweet way while announcing his new music.
Liam died from polytrauma age 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16, 2024.
His funeral, which was held in Amersham, Bucks, was attended by all of his former bandmates; Harry, Zayn Mailk, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
One of the floral tributes visible on the day was in the shape of a set of bowling pins, which were a nod to Liam’s favourite pastime.
This was referenced by Harry in the images to announce his new album, where he is wearing a bowling pin print shirt underneath a yellow jumper and red tie.
Harry Styles has paid a subtle tribute to his late One Direction bandmate Liam Payne after announcing his fourth studio album on Thursday evening
One of the floral tributes visible on the day was in the shape of a set of bowling pins, which were a nod to Liam’s favourite pastime (pictured beside Liam’s son Bear’s tribute)
Harry (pictured with Liam in 2013) wrote: ‘My heart breaks for Karen Geoff, Nicola and Ruth, his son Bear and all those around the world who knew and loved him as I did’
Liam had spent his birthday in August bowling with his family and girlfriend Kate Cassidy just weeks before he fell from the hotel balcony.
He took to Snapchat during the celebrations and was full of jokes teasing to his followers that his security guard would be sacked if he beat him again bowling.
In the clip Liam said that ‘nothing rhymes with 31′ until Kate suggested ’31 the dirty one?’, laughing he replied: ‘No it’s dirty 30, I’ve surpassed that’.
He also showed off the hoodie his girlfriend bought him before they headed to the lane.
At the time, a source told The Sun: ‘Liam was with his mum in Manchester where they celebrated his birthday with family.
‘They were still incredibly close and enjoyed spending time together bowling. Liam’s family stayed with him for a few days at the Stock Exchange Hotel.’
They added: ‘It’s tragic to think that ended up being the last time they would celebrate his special day with him.’
Just a short time before his death, Kate shared a TikTok of the singer at the bowling alley with the caption: ‘He drags me to bowling at least four times a week’.
Liam pictured with a bowling ball on his Snapchat – bowling was one of his passions
A Snapchat of the One Direction star spending time doing what he loved most (pictured)
One fan commented on the video saying: ‘The joy that bowling brought him even though he was so bad at it… I miss him so so much.’
In 2012, the Daily Mail documented how the One Direction bandmates spend their free time, with Harry and Liam opting for a game of bowling.
The two friends were photographed bowling together during a Christmas break that year in Southport, England,
Following Liam’s death, Harry and the rest of the band described feeling ‘completely devastated’.
‘In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,’ they said.
‘But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.
‘The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us.
‘We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam – Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry.’
Louis, Harry and Zayn all later released separate tributes.
Harry wrote on Instagram that he was ‘truly devastated’ and will ‘miss him always’.
Following the band’s joint statement hours, the singer took to Instagram to share his own emotional message to his pal, who he described as ‘warm, supportive and incredibly loving’
‘His greatest joy was making other people happy and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it.
‘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 knew him and loved him, as I did.’
Speaking this week, Louis opened up about how he and his bandmates had grown closer following Liam’s tragic death.
Louis told Billboard: ‘Naturally, there is a closeness, it definitely feels closer than it was. But I think we’re all so busy, it’s hard to keep that consistency. It also depends person to person.
‘Like, Niall – and hopefully he’d say the same about me – we could not exchange a text in a whole year and then go for a beer and literally be chatting nonstop’.
But after taking the time to grieve, Harry has now returned with the news of a brand new album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally
Following this, posters bearing the phrase we belong together and related lines like see you very soon, it’s all waiting there, here we go again, and let the light in started showing up in major global cities on January 12 (pictured London)
The star has been dropping clues about his comeback in recent days, which have included a nine-minute YouTube video (pictured), global posters and a mysterious website
In August last year it was reported that Harry was ‘working through the pain’ of Liam’s death and ‘wasn’t in the right place’ to make new music.
A source told the Daily Star that the passing of his friend who he ‘genuinely loved’ hit Harry like a ‘ton of bricks’.
The insider claimed that although everyone ‘would love to see Harry re-emerge with a brilliant album or a surprising movie role,’ what he needs is ‘patience right now.’
They added: ‘He just hasn’t been in the space to be creative like that since Liam’s passing. This is a time for reflection and meditation, not music videos and arena shows.’
But after taking the time to grieve, Harry has now returned with the news of a brand new album, Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
The album’s cover showed Harry dancing under a disco ball in a darkened landscape, with the font matching that of the posters that had appeared around the globe, sparking speculation an announcement was imminent.
Harry had been dropping clues about his comeback in recent days, which have included a nine-minute YouTube video, global posters and a mysterious website which encouraged fans to sign up to WhatsApp updates.
Fans who have been following the breadcrumbs last night received a surprise voice note from the star, singing ‘we belong together’.
The We Belong Together message has been incorporated in all of the hints about his next project so far, which began with the video titled Forever, Forever.
