Comment: Liam Payne's death is a tragedy and highlights the pressures of global stardom

The death of Liam Payne is a tragedy. It is also deeply distressing. A hugely talented young man from Wolverhampton who had travelled the world while achieving global fame and riches beyond imagination has passed.

He fell from the third floor of a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires after a 911 call was made by hotel staff who were concerned.

It is a desperately, desperately sad end to the life of a man whose star shone brightly. It also reminds us of the flipside of fame and fortune and illustrates the many pressures that pop stars live under.

Pop stardom is what so many hanker for. It looks like the golden ticket, a way to escape the humdrum life that would otherwise await. And for some, it is precisely that. There is, however, a huge price to be paid – and there’s no manual on how to behave or how to deal with the abnormal pressures that will follow.

The stuff that grounds us – family, friends, community – are stripped away as performers find themselves on the constant treadmill of promotion and competition with other acts.

There’s the incessant and relentless requirement to prove oneself. There’s the need to smile, to put on a face, to pretend to be happy at times when you are not. And then there are the temptations. Instead of being surrounded by people who talk about Frankie & Benny’s or life on the supermarket tills, a new cohort enters that offer drink and drugs as a way to self-medicate and remove some of the unimaginable stresses.

Noel Gallagher famously said pop stars shouldn’t moan because they’re living out the dreams of other people. And to some degree, he’s right – as he so often is. Pop stars are the ones who win life’s lucky ticket. They earn enough money to be able to make choices.

But they also have to sacrifice more than most can ever imagine. Life can become very dark very quickly and in the snake pit that is the music industry, there are all sorts of daily dramas and pressures that are too much for some to bear.

Working closely with a number of household names has shown me the challenges some face. There’s one, a bona fide icon, who literally can’t step onto the street for more than 10 seconds without being recognised. If he’s at a theatre and wants a cigarette, stepping out of the side door, within moments there’ll be a crowd of people gathered who all want a piece of him: a selfie, an autograph, or the opportunity to share a story.

It becomes impossible to live up to expectation and all stars, no matter how well balanced, eventually find themselves just wanting to be left alone, just wanting the madness to stop.

And then there’s the search for highs. Playing concerts to adoring fans produces an abnormal adrenalin high. There are few things like it – sportspeople get the same from scoring a goal, hitting the winning run, or crossing the line first and securing gold. Except pop stars do it night in and night out. And trying to find some semblance of normal when you’re miles from home, away from your loved ones, with adrenalin coursing through your veins until the early hours of the morning, knowing that you’ve got to do it all again tomorrow can be crushing.

There’s the tedium, too. While a two-hour show produces a euphoric high, and while celebrity brings with it nefarious, dangerous individuals who find a way to hang on, there’s also the sheer drudgery of life between shows.

A different day brings a different hotel with all the drama of checking in while being recognised in reception, when you’re not at your best. There’s the travel – hours on a bus, or in a plane, or in an airport lounge. There is no privacy, there are few who can be trusted, and the people who were once friends gradually melt away as their lives and that of the pop star become entirely disconnected. If the pop star buys a drink for everyone in the bar, he’s too flash. If the pop star doesn’t buy a drink, he’s tight. It’s impossible to win.

Stars fade, too. The success One Direction enjoyed won’t ever be replicated in solo careers, with Harry Styles being the exception. And that constant desire to get back to the top of the mountain is simultaneously impossible and exhausting.

Some find a way through it. They are able to cope with the adulation, are content in their own skin, and find ways to avoid the dangerous temptations that are ever-present. Many self-medicate; bringing themselves down with drink or downers, or bringing themselves up with other types of drugs. For some, it’s just too much. A handful spurn that life and become obsessively fit, living the sort of lives that professional athletes live as they work hard to rise above the challenges that were once too much.

None of us will ever know what was going through Liam’s mind, how he felt, what would have prevented the tragedy. He was an incredibly down-to-earth, likeable man, who loved his Wolverhampton roots. His family will feel an unimaginable loss, as will his friends, and it is those we should be thinking of right now.

It’s a distressing and upsetting end to a life cut short way, way, way too soon.