Ed Sheeran breaks silence on Liam Payne's death with moving nod to One Direction

Singer has paid tribute to after the dad-of-one's .

on Wednesday in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Local police said the singer fell from the third floor into the courtyard of the Casa Sur Hotel before medics confirmed his death.

Ed, who co-wrote Liam's debut solo single, took to Instagram to share a simply red heart emoji following the singer's passing. Ed shared to the star on his Stories and included the single emoji.

The joint statement by Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik read: "We're completely devastated by the news of Liam's passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.

"The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam."

Liam released his first solo offering Strip That Down in 2017, one year on from One Direction going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Not only did Ed co-wrote the track with Liam but the Shape Of You hitmaker also made a cameo on the recording. Speaking on Radio 1 around the time of Strip That Down's release, Liam revealed: "[Ed's] on the song. He secretly made his way on the song. The voice that does 'strip that down girl' that’s actually him, pitched down many, many moons."

The late singer, 23 at the time, then went on to say how "blessed" he was that Ed opted to work with him. He told host Nick Grimshaw: "Honestly, I feel so blessed and honoured that he wanted to write a song for me and I just want to say thank you to him I guess more than anything. It’s amazing, I’m humble. The fact that he even wanted to bother working with us, spending his time."

Born in August 1993, Liam was frequently ill as a young child due to issues with one of his kidneys. In August last year, he postponed his scheduled tour of South America after suffering from a "serious kidney infection". Earlier this year, he released the track Teardrops, which was co-written with fellow boyband star JC Chasez of NSYNC fame. In August, he announced as a judge on show Building The Band

In his personal life, , the pair having first met on The when she was a judge. In March 2017, the couple announced the birth of their son Bear. Proud new father with dark hair on , with the caption: "I’m incredibly happy to welcome our new baby boy into the , it’s a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life and my favourite memory I have so far."

The singer would go on to speak proudly of his son in the years to come, saying during one awards ceremony that Bear "constantly inspires" him to be a better person. In July 2018, Liam and Cheryl announced their split after two-and-a-half years together, and he was later romantically linked to models Naomi Campbell and Maya Henry. The late singer was most recently in a relationship with Kate Cassidy.

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