Popstar Louis Tomlinson has been pictured for the first time since his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne’s death.
Tomlinson, 32, was seen putting on a brave face following the tragedy as he was supported by family on a holiday in Californian beach city Malibu.
Payne, 31, fell 45ft to his death on Wednesday at the Casa Sur Hotel in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, prompting worldwide tributes – including from those who were in boyband One Direction with him.
Tomlinson has been staying at a luxury beachfront Airbnb in Malibu, while on a family holiday, along with loved ones including his parents, pregnant sister Lottie and her partner Lewis Burton.
He had earlier paid tribute to his friend and ex-colleague, vowing to be an uncle to Payne’s son Bear in an Instagram statement.
Popstar Louis Tomlinson has been pictured for the first time since the death on Wednesday of his One Direction bandmate Liam Payne – he is seen here on holiday in Malibu
Tomlinson (right) had earlier paid tribute to Liam Payne, seen together here after winning the British Artist Video of the Year prize at the 2016 BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena
Tomlinson, seen here this week in Malibu, has vowed to be an ‘uncle’ to Payne’s son Bear
The singer, originally from Doncaster, wrote: ‘I want you to know that if Bear ever needs me I will be the uncle he needs in his life and tell him stories of how amazing his dad was.’
Tomlinson described Wolverhampton-born Payne as ‘the most vital part of One Direction’, praising his ‘perfect pitch, his stage presence, (and) his gift for writing’.
He added: ‘I’m so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours, reminiscing about all the thousands of amazing memories we had together is a luxury I thought I’d have with you for life.
‘I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be.’
Tomlinson said he and Payne had planned to get ‘back in the studio together to try and recreate the writing chemistry we had built up in the band’, adding that he wished he had the ‘chance to say goodbye’ to ‘one of my best friends’.
Both Tomlinson and former One Direction star Zayn Malik said they had ‘lost a brother’.
Malik, who left the band in 2015 citing the need to have ‘some private time out of the spotlight’ before embarking on a solo career, thanked Payne for ‘supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life’ in a separate post on Instagram.
‘When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved,’ he said.
Malik said he ‘butted heads’ with Payne at times because he was ‘headstrong’ and ‘opinionated’, but ‘always secretly respected’ him for it.
Louis Tomlinson has described his friend Liam Payne as ‘the most vital part of One Direction’, praising his ‘perfect pitch, his stage presence, (and) his gift for writing’.
Tomlinson, pictured here in Malibu, said he and Payne had planned to get ‘back in the studio together to try and recreate the writing chemistry we had built up in the band’
The pair are seen here at a photocall in Mexico CIty in November 2015 – Louis Tomlinson has now said of Liam Payne as ‘one of my best friends’
One Direction were formed after appearing on the 2010 series of The X Factor – pictured left to right here, at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, are Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson
Tomlinson shared an emotional tribute to Payne, following his death this week, on Instagram
Payne plunged from a third floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires (file photo)
Tomlinson has been staying this week in Malibu with family and friends including his sister Lottie and her boyfriend Lewis Burton
‘I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever, there is no words that justify or explain how I feel right now other than beyond devastated,’ the 31-year-old added.
A joint statement from Payne’s One Direction bandmates said they were ‘completely devastated’ and would miss the singer ‘terribly’, adding that the ‘memories we shared with him will be treasured forever’.
In a separate statement, Harry Styles said the years he spent with Payne would ‘forever remain among the most cherished years of my life’.
‘I will miss him always, my lovely friend,’ three-time Grammy winner Styles said in a statement on Instagram.
Payne’s ‘greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it’, he wrote.
‘Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious,’ he said. ‘He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life.’
Styles said his ‘heart breaks’ for Payne’s family and his seven-year-old son Bear, who he shared with his former partner, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.
And Payne’s family have said they were ‘heartbroken’ by his death, adding: ‘Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.
Louis Tomlinson, pictured this week in Malibu in California, has been among many paying tribute to Liam Payne after he fell to his death at a hotel in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires
Liam Payne (left) and Louis Tomlinson (right) are seen here on stage at the BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena in February 2016
The band performed what was billed at their final live show at Sheffield Arena in October 2015
Fans light candles as they pay tribute to Liam Payne at the Obelisco in Buenos Aires last night
‘We are supporting each other the best we can as a family and ask for privacy and space at this awful time.’
Payne’s uncle Roger Harris told MailOnline: ‘We are all just deeply saddened and trying to come to terms with it. I just hope everybody gives them some privacy really and allows them to come to terms with it. That’s all I can say.’
Another relative speaking at Payne’s family home in Wolverhampton told MailOnline: ‘We are utterly devastated by the news.’
It comes as The Mail revealed that Liam had been dropped by his record label Universal Music just days before his death.
The record label yesterday posted an image of Liam Payne on Instagram saying they were ‘devastated’ about his death.
Payne, who rose to fame with One Direction on The X Factor in 2010, died of multiple traumas and ‘internal and external haemorrhage’, a post-mortem examination report has said.
Argentina’s National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No 16 said it was investigating the incident as an ‘inconclusive death’ following the report.
The country’s police are now hypothesising he has was ‘going through some type of outbreak as a result of substance abuse’ prior to his death.
In the lead-up to his death, a panicked hotel worker made two calls, saying in the first: ‘We have a guest who’s off his head on drugs and is destroying everything in his room. We need someone to come.’
Louis Tomlinson was pictured looking at his phone at the Airbnb in the Californian beach resort
It was the first time he has pictured since Liam Payne’s death on Wednesday was announced
One Direction members (left to right) Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan are pictured at an HMV store in Manchester in March 2011
One of Liam Payne’s final selfies in Buenos Aires was captioned: ‘Lovely day in Argentina’
Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy posted a picture of the pair on her Instagram from last August
Police in the hotel reception area of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires after Liam Payne fell
Liam Payne looks at his laptop in the Casa Sur Hotel lobby in Buenos Aires on Wednesday at 4.26pm local time (8.26pm UK time). The alarm was raised at 5.04pm following his fall
Louis Tomlinson, pictured in Malibu, said in his Instagram post about Payne: ‘I’m so grateful that we got even closer since the band, speaking on the phone for hours’
He added: ‘I would have loved to share the stage with you again but it wasn’t to be’
A joint statement from Payne’s One Direction bandmates including Tomlinson said they were ‘completely devastated’ and would miss the singer ‘terribly’
He then phoned back after the line went dead, saying: ‘I don’t know if the guest’s life is in danger. The room has a balcony and we are afraid he might do something.’
Payne was said to have been ‘acting erratically in the hotel lobby and smashed his laptop’ before he ‘had to be carried back to his room’, according to local media.
Seconds later the employee, who identified himself as Esteban, added: ‘Just send an ambulance, only an ambulance.’ Workers had heard a loud sound in the courtyard before the singer’s body was discovered just after 5pm local time (9pm UK time).
One Direction fans have been mourning Payne’s death at a vigil outside the Argentine hotel where they have lit candles and laid flowers.
