Payne was born on 28 August 1923. He arrived in the United Kingdom in 1947, and signed up with the Tamworth Hounds in the
National League Division Three. After scoring almost three hundred points for the Hounds, he was subject to a failed transfer to Wimbledon before he was transferred to the Birmingham Brummies for £500, a record fee for a third division rider at that time. Payne struck up an excellent partnership with Brummies captain
Stan Dell and 1954 respectively. In September 2015, it was noted that Payne, aged 91, was living in the
Hervey Bay area of
Queensland, and still regularly played golf. In October 2025, it was announced that Payne had died at the age of 102. ==World final appearances==