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Liam Payne opens up about alcohol addiction: 'I’m quite lucky to be here still'

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Liam Payne. (PHOTO: Getty/Gallo Images)
Liam Payne. (PHOTO: Getty/Gallo Images)

Cape Town - Liam Payne is back with his first solo album and has opened up about his personal battles during One Direction’s break from the industry.

Payne’s debut album LP1 is set to be released this week and fans are waiting with bated breath.

Payne has established himself as the One Direction member most influenced by contemporary hip-hop, The Guardian reports.

After the success of Strip That Down, the lead single from Payne’s upcoming release, he now admits he’s been struggling with alcohol addiction.

Payne says his drinking started on tour following adrenaline peaks of performing and troughs of tedium.

"Doing a show to however many thousands of people, then being stuck by yourself in a country where you can’t go out anywhere – what else are you going to do? The minibar is always there," the singer says.

Payne says he felt an overwhelming loneliness that led him to have dark thoughts, Daily Mail reports.

"I’m quite lucky to be here still. There are times when that level of loneliness and people getting into you every day, it’s like, 'When will this end?'," Payne says.

He goes on to admit that it nearly killed him. "There’s only one thing you control within that situation and that is you just do today, get on with that bit and then there’ll be another hurdle in a few months, a few weeks or maybe even the next day."

In mid-2015, One Direction made the decision to go on an "indefinite hiatus".

"It was difficult at the start, because I didn’t really know anything about myself. It was a bit of a numb feeling," he recalls.

The singer says becoming a father was also something he struggled with at first, according to The Sun.

"Becoming a dad at such a young age, it’s such a difficult thing. And I think I built fatherhood up so much in my head that it kind of messed me up to start with. I started in a bad place with it."

(Sources: The Guardian, Daily Mail, The Sun)

(Photo: Getty Images)

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