The Pop Corporation

It’s so obviously sad when a young person dies, and aged 31 years old, Liam Payne was no age at all. Whether or not it’s been apparent that Payne has been struggling in recent months, the fact is that, aside from his time in One Direction, his solo work and the fact that he’s spent his formative years firmly in the limelight, Liam Payne is a young man who had started a family of his own.

It seems so trite to dissect what may or may not have happened and, indeed, write about his work that we probably wouldn’t have covered in any great depth, in the current situation.

It’s heartbreaking to read about the build-up to his untimely demise, the transcripts of the 911 call, the response from One Direction fans and those who worked with him.

For many pop fans, this might be their first death in the family – and it is always one you take with you through life, because when a young, talented person leaves us through anything other than illness, we’re reminded of the potential they once had and how the songs they sang moved us and touched our lives.

If you mourned Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Mac Miller, Janis Joplin, Tupac Shakur, or whoever else, you become aware of the impossible scrutiny they found themselves viewed under, and how, despite so many tragic and untimely deaths, lessons are so seldomly learned. Payne spoke of the pressures he found when hounded by the press for one stupid photo, and of being trapped with his bandmates in hotels surrounded by fans.

He said, of fame: “I think this has been one of my biggest struggles this whole time, because, I’m very much a heart on the sleeve sort of person. I didn’t actually realise this for a long time, but I often give a little bit too much away… but it’s definitely a difficult one to flick the two people apart. So that you’re on stage, you’re a certain type of person, and at home you’re a certain type of person. That’s always something I’ve really struggled with.”

X Factor alum, Rebecca Ferguson spoke after the news broke, saying: “I’ve spoken for years about the exploitation and profiteering of young stars and the effects – many of us are still living with the aftermath and the PTSD,” adding her condolences. And while many will seek clarifications on the exactness of his death, it is obvious that the cause is tangential to the life that came before it, and the way the whole industry of fame hits young people.

If we are adamant that we will continue to make celebrities of very young people, then at least, we need to learn the ways of being accountable for them, and ultimately, learn to look after them.

It is a miracle anyone gets out of this situation intact, and here we are once again, looking at a death that now seems so preventable, so wasteful and wrenching.

Once again, fans will listen to the music with a sense of sadness and trying to remember a time when such things weren’t filled with a sense of sadness.