Niall Horan honors terror attack victims at New York gig

Niall Horan dedicated a song to those who lost their lives in a terror attack in New York on Tuesday (31Oct17) during a Halloween night gig in the city.

The Irishman hit the stage at the Beacon Theater hours after eight people were killed and 11 injured when a 29-year-old man drove a truck onto a crowded cycle path, close to the site of Manhattan's 9/11 memorial.

Before the One Direction star played the title track from his new album Flicker, he said it was the "favorite" and "most emotional" song he had written, and dedicated it to victims of the attack.

According to Billboard magazine the star said, "I would also like to dedicate this song to the people who lost their lives not too far away from here today in that terrible incident... and the beautiful city of New York."

Tuesday's atrocity was the first deadly act of terrorism in New York since 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Fans of the 24-year-old pop star also paid tribute to him during the song, as they worked together to light up the venue in orange, white and green - the color of the Irish flag - using colored sheets of paper and phone lights.

Flicker debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart on Sunday, making Niall the third One Direction star to score a number one album, matching Harry Styles and former member Zayn Malik.

The trio's solo success has matched that of legendary rockers the Beatles, whose members John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney all racked up multiple number one solo albums.

At the gig Niall expressed his delight with the album's success, saying, "This is a very personal album to me, it means a lot to me. I really appreciate you guys really latching onto that."