I think one of the best stories to describe Liam is his relationship with Tom Parker of The Wanted.
For those who don't know, The Wanted were a British boy band that got popular around the same time. You guys probably know them from their huge hit, Glad You Came, or their slightly-less big hit, Chasing The Sun, which was in Ice Age: Continental Drift. But they actually have an interesting story.
The Wanted were formed in 2009, and were led by Max George, who was in a short-lived boyband on the X-Factor. They released their first single All Time Low two days after One Direction formed on the X-Factor, and it hit #1 in the UK. They ended up breaking out with Glad You Came, released about 4 months before One Direction released What Makes You Beautiful. They had 2 #1 hits and 5 Top 10 songs in the UK before One Direction even released their first song. But when One Direction became popular, it sparked a feud between the two groups.
You see, One Direction and The Wanted were like polar opposites. One Direction were boys, while The Wanted were men. One Direction did pop-rock songs about innocent teenage love, while The Wanted did club songs about drinking and getting lucky. This led to the two getting in Twitter feuds more than once, including Zayn calling Max "chlamydia boy", which almost led to a fight between them.
It looked like there was gonna be a second boy band war, but the war was over before it began. 1D absolutely massacred The Wanted on the charts, and their only other hit was "Chasing The Sun", which was mostly boosted by Ice Age. They tried to break out with a reality show, The Wanted Life, but this didn't work either, and in 2014, they went on hiatus, saying that they couldn't keep up with One Direction.
However, in 2020, Tom Parker was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a very aggressive type of brain tumor. The Wanted briefly reunited to play a couple shows as Tom's cancer was treated, and even held a special charity concert to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer. Unfortunately, he experienced a sudden deterioration, and on March 30, 2022, he passed away, leaving behind a 2-yo son and an infant daughter.
Despite their past rivalry, Liam was the first person to say that he wanted to perform at the event, and he befriended the other members of The Wanted during this time. He showed up to Tom's funeral, and helped the others mourn their loss. After Liam died, Max George and Tom's widow paid tribute to him, and mentioned how he supported them before and after Tom's death. Tom's widow also mentioned how he'd supported her and her kids after his death, and I think about how Liam also left behind a young son.
I think it speaks a lot about Liam that he went out of his way to not only support Tom and The Wanted, but he also helped them deal with the loss. Even though they'd been rivals in the past, they'd gone through the same trials of being in a boy band. I feel like Liam always had the biggest heart out of the rest of the band, and this shows why.
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