Bruce Springsteen laments “enormous pressure” on young stars following Liam Payne’s death

Posted On October 20, 2024October 20, 2024

Following the death of former One Direction member Liam Payne on October 16th, 2024, Bruce Springsteen has discussed the pressure facing young artists today and the dangerous impact the music industry can have.

Springsteen is no stranger to enormous fame. But he was well into his 20s when his 1975 album Born To Run shot him to global success and made his name. In contrast, Liam Payne was only 16 when he auditioned for The X Factor TV series and was selected to be a member of One Direction, swiftly becoming one of the most famous groups on the planet as their popularity and the behaviour of their fans is routinely compared to Beatlemania.

According to Springsteen, this is the problem, as he’s discussed how the music industry leaves young people especially vulnerable. During an interview with The Telegraph, he said that, sadly, artists dying young is “not an unusual thing”.

He continued: “It’s a business that puts enormous pressure on young people. Young people don’t have the inner facility or the inner self yet to be able to protect themselves from a lot of the things that come with success and fame. So they get lost in a lot of the difficult and often pain inducing [things]… whether it’s drugs or alcohol to take some of that pressure off.”

Even though Springsteen and his band were much older than One Direction, he said, “I understand that very well,” adding that he and his troupe also “wrestled with their own issues”.

“Danny [Federici] certainly did,” he continued but insisted that he was strict and kept an eye on his E Street band. He added: “Drugs were not uncommon in the E Street Band, you know. There was a boundary, however – I stayed out of your business, but if I was on stage and I saw that you were not your complete self, there was going to be a problem.”

He then mentioned the legacy of artists like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and any number of other names who died incredibly young. He said that’s still a curse that artists fall into, adding, “That’s a part of the story that suckers some young people in, you know, but it’s that old story. Dying young – good for the record company, but what’s in it for you?”

Sharon Osbourne, an ex-judge of The X Factor, also pointed a finger at the music industry in a tribute post to Payne. She wrote, “Where was this industry when you needed them?” adding, “You were just a kid when you entered one of the toughest industries in the world. Who was in your corner?”

Tributes for Liam Payne have flooded in from names across the music industry, including a joint comment from his fellow One Direction bandmates.

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