Ordinary Boys star Preston reflects on Liam Payne's 'undisguised cries for help' and says his 'misunderstood' pal 'wasn't ready to receive advice'
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Samuel Preston has reflected on his late friend Liam Payne's 'undisguised cries for help' following his tragic death after a fall from a balcony aged 31.
The Ordinary Boys star, 44, who goes by his surname Preston, had a near-fatal fall from a second-floor balcony himself in Denmark in 2017 and broke several bones.
He forged a bond with Liam when they made music together, with Prestion writing Live Forever - a song featured on Liam's 2019 album LP1 and it was released as a single.
Speaking to The Guardian, Preston described Liam as 'a very funny, sweet, kind guy. Misunderstood. A great talent.' But he also feels some of the songs they wrote together were 'undisguised cries for help'.
He added: 'I saw a lot of him in me, because we both suffered. I massively wish I'd been able to do more. But as for some kind of intervention, I don't think I [had that role] in his life.'
Preston said the song Live Forever was 'me trying to say, 'Look, man, this thing happened to me.' But it's hard to give people advice if they're not ready to receive it.'
Samuel Preston has reflected on his late friend Liam Payne's 'undisguised cries for help' following his tragic death after a fall from a balcony aged 31
Preston forged a bond with Liam when they made music together, with Prestion writing Live Forever - a song featured on Liam''s 2019 album LP1 and it was released as a single
Liam fell from a third floor balcony at the upscale CasaSur hotel in Palermo on October 16 2024. His medical cause of death was announced as 'polytrauma', a term which means a person has multiple traumatic injuries to their body.
Preston previously spoke about how the duo, who both shared addiction issues, would drink together while making music however he could see Liam's anguish.
After his fall, Preston, who was previously married to Celebrity Big Brother star Chantelle Houghton, revealed his girlfriend Emily Smith flew to his aid to 'spoon-feed'.
Detailing the extent of his horrific injuries, the singer vowed to 'go sober' for the next 30 years after the traumatising drunken fall.
He explained: 'If I haven't been texting you back it's because I fell off a 2nd floor balcony in Denmark and broke my leg in 4 places, pelvis, hip, foot, ribs, shoulder blade, punctured a lung and smashed my left hand to pieces.
'I know a wise man once said 'boys will be boys' but seriously I drank too much and was careless and please don't abuse your privileges.
'I think I'm going to do the next 30 years sober. Thank you to my gf for flying over to spoon feed me and my mama for doing the same.
He signed off: 'To quote Garth Marenghi 'it really hurts'.'
The Ordinary Boys star, 44, who goes by his surname Preston, had a near-fatal fall from a second-floor balcony himself in Denmark in 2017 and broke several bones
Preston also spoke about Liam's musical abilities in a past interview and how he was thwarted by comparisons between himself and his One Direction bandmates.
He said: 'You could sense there was a real briliance to him that he was almost afraid of letting people see. He was such a talented musician and could allow himself to be so raw...
'He was like, 'Well I have to be the most successful male solo artist or I'm a failure', but that's an almost impossible task.
'To see his bandmates [and their solo careers] and have that direct comparison - it's unavoidable for him to see that all the time...
'If there was someone who's prone to addictive, problematic behaviours, then I think that's just a very difficult situation to be in'.
