Zayn Malik paid a sweet tribute to his late bandmate Liam as he wore one of the star’s diamond chain necklaces for his first sold out show in London on Tuesday evening.
The singer, 31, was previously seen wearing the jewellery at the star’s funeral last week and continued to keep the star in his thoughts during the tour.
Zayn looked back at home on the stage at the Eventim Apollo as he thanked fans for being patient with him.
He admitted: ‘Thank you for waiting, I know I took a while but we are here.’
Greeting the crowd on Tuesday, Zayn exclaimed: ‘Yooooo! What’s happening! What’s going on London.
‘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.
Zayn Malik paid a sweet tribute to Liam Payne and thanked fans for ‘waiting for him’ as he returned to London for his first sold out show at the Eventim Apollo on Tuesday evening
Embarking on his Stairway To The Sky tour, the dates come after Zayn postponed the first two dates of the tour in the wake of the tragic death of his bandmate
‘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.
‘Have a drink, have a laugh let’s enjoy ourselves yeah.’
Embarking on his Stairway To The Sky tour, the dates come after Zayn postponed the first two dates of the tour in the wake of Liam’s tragic death.
The show ended with a backdrop which read: ‘Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro,’ and a red heart.
Later in the set Zayn asked the crowd to be mindful of other people in attendance as fans at the front were getting squished by those in the back.
He said: ‘If you’re at the back try not to push because people at the front are getting a little bit squished.
‘We’re all here to have a good time, I’m not going anywhere. Just try not to hurt anybody. Let’s have a good time tonight.’
The Pillowtalk singer has further dates in Wolverhampton, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle before he moves on the US. All his announced shows so far have sold out.
Zayn is on his first ever solo tour after previously performing his first show in nine years at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire back in May.
Greeting the crowd on Tuesday, Zayn exclaimed: ‘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’
Later in the set Zayn asked the crowd to be mindful of other people in attendance as fans at the front were getting squished by those in the back
Meanwhile the show ended with a backdrop which read: ‘Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro,’ and a red heart’ (pictured at the Leeds show on Saturday)
On Saturday Zayn paid tribute to his ‘brother’ Liam as he returned to the stage for the first time since his death.
Opening his gig at Leeds 02 Academy at the weekend, Zayn wore Liam’s necklace as he touched the chain while looking up to the sky in an emotional moment.
Liam died on October 16 after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Argentina, with his One Direction bandmates seen in public together for the first time in nine years as they paid their respects at his funeral on Wednesday.
Zayn’s first ever solo tour was set to begin in San Francisco on October 23, the US dates have now been postponed to January, and a Edinburgh show, which was meant to take place on the same day as Liam’s funeral has been moved to December 8.
Former bandmates Harry Styles, 30, Niall Horan, 31, Louis Tomlinson, 32, and Zayn arrived separately at the church for a poignant final send off.
Harry dressed in black, pulled up to the funeral in a BMW, while Niall attended with his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, with Zayn Malik arriving shortly after Louis.
Zayn was the first to quit One Direction in August 2015, citing ‘stress’, after withdrawing from the group’s world tour. The band officially announced its split in January 2016, breaking the hearts of millions of fans across the globe.
Last week he revealed that his gigs set to take place next week in Edinburgh, had been rescheduled due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
Paying tribute to his bandmate, Zayn wore one of Liam’s diamond chain necklaces for the performance after he was previously seen wearing the jewellery at the star’s funeral last week
On Saturday Zayn paid tribute to his ‘brother’ Liam as he returned to the stage for the first time since his death
Following Liam’s unexpected death aged 31 after falling from the third floor of his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last month, Zayn announced he was postponing the US dates of his tour (One Direction pictured in 2013)
Sharing a poster of the new dates through his tour management’s socials, an accompanying statement read: ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances Zayn Stairway To The Sky Edinburgh show original scheduled for November 20 has been rescheduled for December 8.
‘A further date on November 21 at the same O2 Academy Edinburgh venue has been moved to December 9. All tickets for the original show dates will be honoured on the rescheduled dates.’
Despite fans being disappointed over the news, many took to social media to voice their concerns for Zayn’s well-being and send him supportive messages telling him to ‘prioritise his mental health’, assuming the delay was related to him still grieving the loss of Liam.
They wrote: ‘We love you @zaynmalik Take all the time you need, we’ll be here supporting you regardless’.
