Zayn Malik paid tribute to Liam Payne during the London date of his long-awaited debut solo tour.
As he took to the stage, the Pillowtalk singer, 31, was wearing a diamond necklace that belonged to his late One Direction bandmate and he was first seen sporting a week ago at Payne’s funeral.
The last time he had performed in the capital was nine years ago.
Acknowledging the lengthy gap to the sold out crowd at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, he said: “Thank you for waiting, I know I took a while but we are here.”
He continued: “It f****g feels amazing to be here not going to lie. Thank you for waiting, I know I took a while but we are here so tonight I want you guys to have an amazing night, really enjoy yourself, sing along, scream.
“If people have told you to be quiet online pay them no mind at all we are here tonight we are having a good time.”
Adding: “Have a drink, have a laugh let's enjoy ourselves yeah.”
Malik’s appearance came after he postponed the first two dates of his Stairway To The Sky tour following Payne’s shock death last month.
He closed out the show with a backdrop which read: “Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro,” and a red heart.
The Bradford-born star has further dates in Wolverhampton, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle before he moves on to the US. All of his announced shows so far have sold out.
