The One Direction singer told The Sun that he had been booked to fill in for Blue's Lee Ryan at The Sunshine Festival in Rhyl when he was just 16.
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However, the gig was a disaster and, after being kicked off The X Factor at his first attempt in 2008, the boyband star felt he didn't want to continue any more.
Payne said: "There's one awful gig that always sticks in my mind. I filled in for Lee Ryan doing The Sunshine Festival in Rhyl. It was raining.
"Me and my dad travelled from Wolverhampton. I played for ten people for £50. That had to be my worst gig - that was the last straw. I was like, 'I'm not doing this any more, dad, I don't want to.'
"I'd have been turning 16. It was the day after my birthday. It was just terrible."
Last week it was reported Payne had started dating former X Factor star Leona Lewis, days after splitting from his long-term girlfriend.
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