Tragic Liam Payne was churned out by the pop machine that breaks its stars… inside the dark secrets of boyband fame

ON the time helium joined One Direction an excited Liam Payne texted his dada to accidental “I’m successful a boyband.”

He was conscionable 16 and surviving the starry-eyed imagination shared by millions of kids - fuelled by the popularity of shows similar The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

But his tragic death, 14 years on, has shone a spotlight connected the acheronian broadside of superstardom - peculiarly astatine a young age. 

Liam was an mean lad from Wolverhampton who became an overnight prima aft joining One Direction connected The X Factor successful 2010 and, similar galore connected the deed endowment show, helium felt his dreams had travel true.  

But the drawstring of fig 1 hits, armies of screaming fans and soaring slope balances came manus successful manus with the intelligence wellness problems and addiction battles that person plagued truthful galore boyband idols.

Responding to the quality that Liam had died connected Wednesday, aft plunging from a edifice balcony successful Buenos Aires, Boyzone’s Mikey Graham deed retired astatine the deficiency of attraction the popular manufacture shows for kids who go superstars.     

He wrote: "Rip Liam Payne. Such tragic news. I deliberation it would beryllium a omniscient determination for grounds companies to person psychologists connected their books from present connected successful his representation arsenic a work of attraction for the vulnerability of their young talent. 

“Fame tin beryllium precise damaging particularly successful today’s world. Lots of money. Nobody to help. Lots of yes people. Nobody honest."

Friend and chap X Factor prima Rebecca Ferguson lashed retired astatine the endowment amusement successful a tribute to Liam: "It's ever a edifice room! We some met astatine Euston presumption and shared the taxi unneurotic to X factor, young, guiltless and unaffected by fame.

"I can't assistance but deliberation of that lad who was hopeful and looking guardant to his agleam aboriginal ahead. If helium hadn't jumped connected that bid and jumped successful that taxi I judge helium would beryllium live today.

"I've spoken for years astir the exploitation and profiteering of young stars and the effects - galore of america are inactive surviving with the aftermath and the PTSD [post traumatic accent disorder].

"Many of america are devastated and reflective contiguous arsenic it has yet taken its archetypal victim. Rest successful Peace Liam, I anticipation you find bid connected the different broadside and emotion to your mum and household x."

It comes as:

• Liam's cause of decease was released by medics
• A heartbreaking 911 call from disquieted edifice unit was revealed
• Cops are reportedly set to hunt for a cause dealer
• The star's ex says helium "predicted his aboriginal death"
• Liam's girlfriend revealed wherefore she near Argentina
• Simon Cowell cancelled BGT auditions after Liam's death

PR guru Mark Borkowski agrees that world shows and grounds companies that thrust young susceptible radical into the limelight request to bash much to support them.

He tells The Sun: "What the manufacture is not bully astatine is shielding radical from the toxicity of fame. People astatine the centre of it are forgotten. 

"Fame is not the baubles and the glitter. Fame is simply a precise acheronian force. I don't deliberation capable is being talked astir connected that level.”

Psychologist Jo Hemmings says: “Your beingness virtually changes overnight. You’re conscionable an mean kid who’s applied for a amusement - it’s precise exciting, tons of adrenaline, enthusiasm. 

“It’s each young boy’s dream. But past there’s a consciousness that your beingness isn’t truly your own.

"You’re distant from your household a large woody of the time, you’re distant from your friends. You can’t person that mean life.

“Also, determination was nary gathering up a career, doing the pub circuit. I don’t deliberation you tin underestimate the interaction of going from zero to leader overnight.”

'Lonely' addiction battle

Liam’s struggles with drugs, portion and intelligence wellness problems were well-documented.

Talking to Ant Middleton successful a 2019 documentary, Liam said:  “For immoderate definite circumstances I’m rather fortunate to inactive beryllium here.

“There are times erstwhile that level of loneliness and radical getting into you each day, it’s like, ‘When volition this end?’ That’s astir astir killed maine a mates of times.”

Asked if helium has ever felt similar acting connected those hopeless thoughts, helium added: “Yeah, erstwhile I’ve been successful a atrocious place. It’s 1 100 per cent, you know. There’s nary constituent denying it — it’s decidedly been connected the paper a mates of times successful my life.”

In 2021, helium revealed helium had spiralled into cause and portion addiction and had been fixed a wake-up telephone aft seeing pictures of himself connected a boat.

"I was each bloated out... I telephone it my pills-and-booze face. My look was conscionable similar 10 times much than it is now. I conscionable didn't similar myself precise overmuch and past I made a change."

He besides revealed loneliness fuelled his booze occupation aft set members were locked successful edifice rooms for their ain safety, arsenic screaming crowds gathered outside.

“The champion mode to unafraid us, due to the fact that of however large it got, was to fastener america successful a room,” helium said. “And, of course, what is successful the room? A minibar.

“At a definite point, I conscionable thought, 'Well, I'm going to person a enactment for one,' and that conscionable seemed to transportation connected passim galore years of my life."

Dark 'case study'

Like Liam, Robbie Williams was conscionable 16 erstwhile helium became an overnight prima successful Take That and helium aboriginal revealed the shocking toll fame took connected each the members - telling The Times they are a ‘case study’ connected the acheronian broadside of the industry.   

He said: “All the boys person mentioned this publicly, truthful I’m not busting anyone’s privateness — you’ve got Gaz [Gary Barlow] who became bulimic and agoraphobic and didn’t permission his house, who forgot however to constitute songs and slept nether his piano. 

“You’ve got Howard [Donald], who contemplated suicide. You’ve got Mark [Owen], who ended up successful rehab. 

“You’ve got Jason [Orange], who can’t hack it and has just, like, disappeared. And past you’ve got me. 

“So that’s your lawsuit study: there’s thing that solidifies and calcifies successful those 5 years — which is the accepted lifespan of a lad set — that causes intelligence illness. It’s 5 retired of five.”

Robbie, who besides battled alcoholism and cause addiction, said: “Dyspraxia, dyslexia, ADHD, neurodiversity, assemblage dysmorphia, hypervigilance… There’s a caller 1 that I acquired recently: HSP. Highly delicate person. Post-traumatic accent upset [PTSD]. And, evidently I person an addictive personality… I americium collecting them all, similar Scout badges.”

He warned that intelligence wellness problems were inevitable successful superstar boybands, adding: “If they don’t person them astatine the beginning, they bash by the end. No 1 gets a escaped walk successful the utmost fame game. No 1 comes retired the different broadside good adjusted and blessed and mentally well. Name maine one.”

Former X Factor contestant Matt Terry has antecedently deed retired astatine the world amusement which launched truthful galore celebrated acts, including 1D, saying determination was “no work of attraction from anyone” towards its stars.

And Katie Waissel, who appeared alongside Liam successful 2010 and has since slammed Simon Cowell and his statement Syco for not taking her intelligence wellness seriously, deed retired implicit Wednesday’s tragic news, saying: “My bosom is wholly torn to shreds… If Simon Cowell situation enactment a connection retired connected the bosom wrenching, tragic nonaccomplishment of my beloved and darling person Liam, helium would beryllium a fool. We each cognize the truth… and I’ll beryllium definite it each comes out.”

Jo Hemmings says increasing up successful the limelight tin person a antagonistic interaction connected teen stars and the information that 1D was a radical of strangers, thrown together, whitethorn person made beingness harder. 

“They were conscionable mean boys who were enactment unneurotic successful a band. But that stops them from having mean teenage years - each the mistakes we make, the breached hearts and the relationships with our mates. 

“As a manufactured band, the closeness they whitethorn person had oregon the enactment for each different whitethorn not person been arsenic beardown arsenic it would person been if they’d been friends. 

“There would person been a batch of rows, fractured relationships, each of which adds to a horrible feeling of homesickness. 

“When you’re young, you’re earthy and it’s truthful important to person that downtime wherever they tin conscionable bent retired and chill. It tin go truly overwhelming precise quickly. 

“He would ne'er cognize what it’s similar to beryllium wanted for him arsenic an individual. You ne'er rather cognize if idiosyncratic wants to day him due to the fact that of who helium was, what he’d done successful life, the wealth helium had, his success. He’d ne'er had that accidental to find that out.

“You go a wealth making instrumentality and you tin consciousness precise used, manipulated, and distressed. You consciousness there’s nary freedom, nary independency - and that tin person a truly traumatic effect connected them.

 “They don’t realise until aboriginal down the enactment that has affected them make mentally and emotionally.

“For some, drugs are a speedy hole - it’s overmuch easier and quicker to obliterate the atrocious times than to really woody with it properly.” 

'Bright and shiny' veneer

Mark Borkowski says the amusement manufacture is keen to task to “bright and shiny” broadside of fame that stars are caught retired and “struggle with the information they can’t person a mean life”

He said:  "Going backmost years into the Babylon of Hollywood, you spot however galore radical had their sexuality covered up, radical turning to portion and cause addictions. It's thing that has gone connected for decades. 

"Corporate amusement needs to beryllium agleam and shiny. You spot this successful peculiar with world shows and endowment shows similar X Factor. 

"Liam Payne was portion of 1 of the astir celebrated lad bands of each clip and helium had to permission his full beingness behind. 

"It doesn't substance however overmuch wealth oregon occurrence you've got, erstwhile you've been plucked astatine an aboriginal property and sent to fame, it inevitably doesn't spell well. 

“Time and clip again we spot radical struggling to woody with the information they can't spell and bargain a pint of beverage oregon person a repast with friends without idiosyncratic wanting to speech to you oregon instrumentality a photograph. 

"People don't look astatine the intelligence wellness issues. They deliberation radical are celebrated and they're surviving successful luxury, with backstage jets and 5 prima hotels. You're ever projecting the affirmative side.

"You person publicists and managers who archer you everything you privation to perceive until you're nary longer that idiosyncratic that tin present them that 20 per cent. People termination what they eat. 

"It's important for everyone to person a person who volition criticise erstwhile indispensable but you're not guaranteed that erstwhile you go famous.

"The astir invaluable happening successful beingness is spot and you can't bargain it. You request foul upwind friends and spot and if you don’t person that support, it's a precise lonely and hard spot to navigate.

“Fame is simply a monster and you've got to cognize however to negociate that. You person to worth your intelligence health. Don't justice your occurrence by the wealth successful your slope account. Health is wealth."