Zayn Malik pays heartfelt tribute to ‘brother’ Liam Payne on stage in the late One Direction star’s hometown of Wolverhampton: ‘I hope he sees this’ [Video]

Zayn Malik paid tribute on stage to  Liam Payne in his former One Direction bandmate’s hometown of Wolverhampton on Friday, saying he ‘hopes’ the late star sees his gig.

The singer, 31, kicked off his Stairway To The Sky tour in Leeds’s O2 Academy last week, with an on-stage blue screen message which read: ‘Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro’ with a pink heart. 

However, he has not appeared to directly speak about Payne, who died aged 31 in Argentina last month, during the tour. 

According to social media videos, Malik told the University of Wolverhampton venue The Halls venue: ‘I’ve been doing something, at the end of the show, every night, and it’s been dedicated to my brother Liam Payne. Rest in peace’.

‘I hope you’re seeing this, we’re in your hometown tonight, Wolverhampton, this is for you, Liam.’