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Former One Direction member Liam Payne passed away on Wednesday, October 16. He lost his life after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following the singer's unexpected passing, a few fans took to social media to share images of clouds in the sky seemingly resembling Liam Payne’s arrow tattoo.
Payne had 21 tattoos across his body, as per Fandom, including his most recent piece of ink, a tattoo that read 'Where dark meets light' across his chest. Earlier in the week prior to his death, TikTok videos even showed Payne comparing tattoos with a fan outside his hotel.
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Liam Payne's first tattoo was of a cross on his ankle
Liam Payne's passing created a renewed interest in the late singer's plethora of body art and the meaning behind it. In a 2019 interview with GQ, the singer broke down the meaning behind all his tattoos. Payne started the video by explaining the chevron tattoo on his forearm, consisting of 4 inverted Vs or arrows.
Payne revealed that he was drunk when he got the tattoo and called it "one of the best mistakes" he ever made. The very first tattoo Liam ever got was of a little cross on both his ankles. Liam used the tattoo as a tease to understand what tattoos felt like.
In a 2013 interview with ABC's Nightline, Payne revealed that he got the tattoo, a day after joining One Direction. Every band member but Niall Horan got the ink. Regarding the meaning behind the tattoo, he explained to GQ:
"Screw your legs to your feet to keep you grounded or whatever it was something stupid."
Following the ankle tattoos, he got 'Everything I wanted but nothing I'll ever need' tattooed on his left arm. Payne conceded to losing friends at a certain point in his success and got the tattoo when he felt "really, really cool" but also "super lonely." Even though Payne admitted to starting off wanting to tattoo something deep and meaningful, it eventually became mostly "nice pictures" because he liked the artwork.
Payne admitted to having a "dad joke tattoo" that said 'Only time will tell' on his right wrist, opposite his left watch-wearing wrist. When he started running out of ideas, the One Direction singer simply started throwing "random stuff" on him. Some of this included his initials tattooed on each thumb, roses on his left hand, an eagle with an empty banner on his left hand, 29 on his right hand to represent his birthdate, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics on his left forearm.
The singer showcased a skull design tattoo with a quote that read "We are the quiet ones" on his left arm and explained that he got it when he was in One Direction and there was "loads of animosity going on". He explained that this was a bit of an "angsty tattoo" as the band members were not allowed to say anything as nobody wanted to tarnish the image they'd created.
The giant Pocket Watch and Gears tattoo on Liam Payne's left arm was done by the famous tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado, according to Body Art Guru. Liam wanted the clock to initially showcase the time of his birth but his mother's delayed text response led him to simply tattoo what the clock said then, which was five minutes to 12. It all worked out pretty well for the singer who explained to GQ:
"Five to 12 is like five minutes to lunchtime, it's a great time of day. Or it's five minutes to party time, another great time of day."
On Liam Payne's left upper arm was his family coat of arms, which he didn't realize also looked like the Gryffindor logo from the beloved Harry Potter franchise. This was yet another piece by Nikko Hurtado, who Liam praised as "one of the best artists in the world". However, this piece took a lot of time and was really painful for the singer.
Another one of Liam Payne's meaningful tattoos was his X-Factor number tattooed across his right arm in Roman numerals. Liam also had a 'bunched feathers and stars' tattoo on his right forearm. He got the inspiration for the big feather tattoo from a story that he read after his nan passed away, about a little boy who kept finding owl feathers around the house.
The day after Liam read the story, he discovered a huge feather where the blinds in his house were. He then got the tattoo as a tribute to his nan. The singer later added stars and other feathers to the piece along with the line 'I figured it out...' from the band's song You & I.
Furthermore, in the 2019 video, Liam Payne talked about wanting to get ink across his chest. That is exactly what he did last December when he got the phrase, 'Where dark meets light' tattooed across his chest in ombre-styled gothic font while at the London Social tattoo parlor. Tattoo artist Certified Letter Boy who did the ink, was quoted in an October 17 article by The Sun as saying:
"It reflects Liam’s journey and the universal truth that in our darkest moments, there’s always a way back."
Liam got the tattoo when he was working on his second studio album, which eventually ended up getting shelved.
The artist also had a tattoo that read "Somewhere is a place that nobody knows." He got it during One Direction's world tour in South America. He also had the number 4 inked on the ring finger of his left hand and his birth year, 1993 on the back of his left arm. Liam Payne also had a skull and an eye tattoo.
Multiple TikTok videos from earlier last week showed Liam Payne interacting with fans outside his hotel, days prior to his tragic demise. One of the videos, shared on X by Oli London on October 18, showed Payne's interaction with a fan who credited Liam with saving his life.
Liam hugged the fan and posed for a picture with him and the duo flashed their identical arrow tattoos. The duo compared some other tattoos before shaking hands and embracing again.
Liam Payne is survived by his 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne who he shares with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole, parents Geoff and Karen Payne, and older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.
