One Direction were forced to cancel their show in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night (20Oct15) minutes before taking the stage after singer Liam Payne fell ill.

The Drag Me Down singers were slated to kick off a three-night mini-residency at the SSE Belfast Arena as part of their On The Road Again tour, but as thousands of fans began entering the venue, a message on video screens scattered around the arena read: "The show has been canceled as Liam has taken ill, and whilst not serious, he is unable to perform tonight."

Disappointed fans were told to hold onto their tickets and await a further statement from the band about a rescheduled gig."

Bandmate Harry Styles took to Twitter following the abrupt cancellation and wrote, "Deepest apologies to everyone at the show tonight in Belfast. Very disappointed, but unfortunately these things happen. We're very sorry."

Last week (14Oct15), Liam also had to pull out of gay lifestyle magazine Attitude's annual awards gala after falling ill. Payne was set to collect the Sexiest Man of the Year trophy.

The day before (13Oct15), Harry stepped out in London sporting a brace on his right foot to aid a stress fracture following a a slip onstage at a gig in Birmingham, England the week before (11Oct15).

The boy band is nearing the end of an extensive world trek with only three English dates to go in Newcastle and Sheffield, where Payne and his bandmates will take a final bow on 31 October (15) and then focus on the release of their fifth studio album, Made in the A.M., on 13 November (15).

The lads will start an extensive hiatus to focus on their own solo projects in the spring (16).