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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Rachel McGrath

Songwriter reflects on Liam Payne’s ‘undisguised cries for help’

Liam Payne Samuel Preston
  • Samuel Preston, former frontman of The Ordinary Boys, has reflected on his songwriting collaborations with Liam Payne, saying he now views some of their co-written songs as "undisguised cries for help".
  • Preston, who also faced his own struggles with painkiller addiction after a serious accident in 2017, noted he saw a lot of himself in Payne.
  • He penned the track "Live Forever" about his own recovery, which Payne later recorded and released in 2019, alongside other songs like "Slow" and "All I Want (For Christmas)".
  • Liam Payne died in 2024 after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires, with a toxicology report indicating the presence of a drug cocktail.
  • Payne's former One Direction bandmate, Niall Horan, also shared his reaction to the death, expressing a range of emotions from shock to sadness to anger.

IN FULL

Liam Payne’s co-written songs were ‘undisguised cries for help’, says Ordinary Boys singer Preston

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