Rock ‘n’ roll: and the best years of our lives

Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse – and indeed Elvis and John Lennon – all left the stage, the building, at very young, and relatively young, ages.

Now, One Direction's Liam Payne at 31 joins with the legacy of these artists.

A video on social media shows Payne singing and dancing at his former bandmate Niall Horan's concert in Argentina just days before he was found dead from a 45 foot hotel balcony fall. The 31-year-old seemed to be in high spirits as he wrapped his arm around girlfriend Kate Cassidy's shoulder and tenderly kissed her on the head.

He waves his arm from side to side and sings along as Kate lovingly rests her head on his shoulder. Payne attended Horan's gig at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, reportedly posting to his Instagram stories beforehand that he wanted to 'square up a couple things' with the Irish singer. That he suffered from addiction and mental issues is acknowledged – he was never able to come to terms with the instant fame and notoriety being a member of boyband One Direction brought him.

The leaving of the building of Elvis and John Lennon – and the enigmatic Amy Winehouse – took something of a toll on this writer, this music aficionado. I can remember clearly where I was when I heard they had died.

My young friend Ella tells me : "This is the first celebrity death that has affected me like this, I always knew that this would happen but I expected it to be in 30 years – not now." She says that, when the news broke about the singer's passing, she was asleep. She then woke up in the night, saw her phone and saw news alerts that Payne had died – but she originally thought it was just a 'sick joke'.

"I had woken up in the middle of the night and checked my phone to see the time, when suddenly I saw all the news alerts about his death. But, when I realised that it was actually real life and not a bad dream, I was left absolutely heartbroken."

Like the deaths of Elvis and John Lennon to my generation, the going of Liam Payne has had a profound effect on today's generation. Britain's Got Talent has cancelled auditions for the 18th season in the wake of Payne's death. Simon Cowell – who famously formed One Direction – decided last minute to call off the tryouts after he learned of the young star’s death.

Simon, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI were due to continue filming for BGT after auditions kicked off at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. A spokesman for the programme's producer, Freemantle UK, said: "Due to the tragic passing of Liam Payne, we have decided to postpone the Britain's Got Talent auditions. Our thoughts are with Liam's friends, family and all who loved him."

Though popular music sales in general have plummeted since their peak around the turn of the Millennium, certain genres continue to generate commercial excitement: pop, rap, hip-hop, country. But rock — amplified and often distorted electric guitars, bass, drums, melodic if frequently abrasive lead vocals, with songs usually penned exclusively by the members of the band — barely registers on the charts.

Yes, we have those who died horribly young decades ago — as mentioned, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, et al — and then there's the litany of legends felled by illness, drugs, and just plain old age in more recent years: George Harrison, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty.

Those losses have been painful. But it's nothing compared with the tidal wave of obituaries to come. The grief and nostalgia will wash over us all. Yes, we Boomers left alive will take it hardest — these were our heroes and generational compatriots. But rock remained the biggest game in town through the 1990s, which implicates GenXers , no less than plenty of Millennials. And now GenZ.

There's going to be an awful lot of mourning going on.

And the musical giants still with us: Bob Dylan (81); Paul McCartney (82); Paul Simon (82) and Art Garfunkel (82); Carole King (82); Brian Wilson (82); Mick Jagger (81) and Keith Richards (80); Joni Mitchell (80); Jimmy Page (80) and Robert Plant (76); Ray Davies (80); Roger Daltrey (80) and Pete Townshend (79); Roger Waters (80) and Dave Gilmour (78); Rod Stewart (79); Eric Clapton (79); Debbie Harry (79); Neil Young (78); and Van Morrison (78).