Stephen Patrick David Gately (17 March 1976 – 10 October 2009) was an Irish pop singer, songwriter and actor, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers of the pop group Boyzone.[1] All of Boyzone's studio albums hit number one in the UK, their third and last being their most successful internationally. With Boyzone Gately had a record-breaking sixteen consecutive singles enter the top five of the UK Singles Chart.[2] He performed for millions of fans globally.[3] He released his only solo album in 2000, after the group's initial breakup, which charted in the UK top ten and yielded three UK hit singles, including the top three hit "New Beginning". Gately went on to appear variously in successful stage productions and on television programmes as well as contributing further tracks to various projects. In 2008, he rejoined his colleagues as Boyzone reformed for a series of concerts and recordings.
Gately wed Andrew Cowles, first in a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas in 2003 and more formally in a civil partnership ceremony in London in 2006. In 1999, he became one of the first pop stars to come out as gay.[4][5] He was also the first ever boyband member to do so.[6]
Upon Boyzone's reformation, Gately featured as part of the first gay
couple in a boyband's music video in what was to be his last music
video with the band, for the song "Better".[7] He was discovered dead at an apartment he owned with Cowles in Majorca, Spain on 10 October 2009. Brian Boyd in The Irish Times said "Stephen Gately’s death represents the first time that the boyband genre has had to deal with such a tragic situation".[8] Tim Teeman of The Times (UK) heralded Gately as a hero of gay rights for his response to being "smoked out of the closet".[9]
Early life and family
Gately grew up in relative poverty in the poor, working-class Sheriff Street area of Dublin.[10] He was the fourth of five children; his father Martin is a decorator and his mother, Margaret (born 1949) a cleaner.[11] His siblings are Michelle, Tony, Alan and Mark.[12][13] Gately's father had an accident meaning he had to quit work and be hospitalised for three months in September 2004.[14] His mother then took over as full-time carer.[14] The singer attended primary school at St Laurence O'Toole's and secondary school at North Strand Technical College.[14] As a teenager he appeared in various musicals and theatre performances at school, such as Juno and the Paycock.[11] Towards the end of his life he became estranged from his parents but visited his home with Andrew Cowles in 2008.[14]
Career
Music
Music
Boyzone
Gately joined Boyzone upon their formation in 1993. The group became known in Ireland after an infamous appearance on The Late Late Show that year, which presenter Gay Byrne dismissed—although he later concluded: "They certainly had the last laugh on us".[15] Boyzone's first success outside Ireland was when the song "Love Me for a Reason" reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1995.[6] The group split suddenly following a string of performances in Dublin's Point Theatre in 2000.[15] By the time Boyzone originally rested the band, they had achieved six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. They were considered a major pop band of the 1990s and had a much publicised rivalry with UK boy band Take That,[6] even selling more singles than them.[16] Gately shared the majority of lead vocal work with Ronan Keating.
A February appearance at the 2008 Meteor Awards relaunched the reformed Boyzone, with touring taking place throughout 2008.[17][18] After his death, manager Louis Walsh described Gately as "the glue in Boyzone, he kept them all together".[19]
Solo career
After success with Boyzone, the band decided in 2000 to move on to solo projects. Gately was the first with his debut solo single titled "New Beginning" and later a debut solo album of the same name.
The album New Beginning included twelve brand new tracks including a version of the classic "Bright Eyes" which he recorded for the soundtrack to the new TV version of Watership Down. He also became the voice of one of the characters ('Blackavar') which was created to look like him.
On 29 May 2000, the single "New Beginning" was released and reached number three in the UK charts. Two weeks later the album was released and also entered the charts.
The second single taken from the album was "I Believe". Released on 2 October 2000 this song also featured on the soundtrack to the film Billy Elliot and just missed the UK top ten, peaking at number eleven. Gately was inspired to record this track after he had seen the film. He attended the premieres of the film both at the Edinburgh Film Festival and at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, along with the actors from the film including Julie Walters and Jamie Bell. In May 2001, Stephen's third single, "Stay", was released and reached number thirteen in the UK chart. That month, with his single still in the charts, his record company Polydor dropped him from their label.
In January 2007, Gately was heard in Horror of Glam Rock, a Doctor Who audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions for BBC7. For this audio play, Gately recorded an original song, "Children of Tomorrow", with music by Tim Sutton and lyrics by Barnaby Edwards; this was his first solo track since 2001's "Stay".[20]
Boyzone's reformation
In 2008 following his solo career and various bouts of acting and television appearances, Gately rejoined his old colleagues when Boyzone reformed, following the success of revived contemporaries Take That. Gately had been the most eager to reform and urged his bandmates to come together again.[15] They sold out two more tours of the United Kingdom.[21]
Boyzone released a brand new single, "Love You Anyway", followed by a new compilation album in October 2008. December 2008 saw the release of a second new single, "Better". The video for the song generated controversy, as scenes depicting romantic couples included a shot of two men embracing, in an inclusive nod to Gately's homosexuality. The group unanimously agreed that Gately should be allowed pair with a male actor.[22] It was condemned by, among others, the minister of the Dromore Reformed Presbyterian Church.[23] Others, however, cite that milestone as among the reasons why Gately is a "gay rights hero". Wrote Tim Teeman of the Times Online, "Gately showed that an unflamboyant guy could be a pop star and gay...the real shame should be reserved for those managers and showbusiness power-brokers who practise that kind of discrimination, and also maintain the closet, to line their pockets."[24]
At the time of Gately's death the group had selected thirty songs which they intended to record for a new album to be released in 2010.[25] This was to have been followed by a tour.[25]
Acting and television
In December 2002, Gately took the lead role in Bill Kenwright's new production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,[15] which previewed in Oxford in December 2002 before moving to Liverpool over Christmas 2002 and finally to London's West End and the New London Theatre in Drury Lane in February 2003. From September 2004 until March 2005 Gately played the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium.
Gately made his pantomime debut at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley in December 2005 starring as Dandini in Cinderella. In April 2006 he took on the role of The Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
Gately also took part in Channel Five's All Star Talent Show in October 2006, performing the slice and dice magic trick which he only had a week to learn, coming second to Toby Anstis. He was also in the second series of ITV's Dancing on Ice with his dancing partner Kristina Lenko. They went out in eighth place on 10 February 2007.
In March 2007, Gately provided his vocal talents to the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio play, Horror of Glam Rock.
In September 2007, Gately began touring the UK in an 11-week run of Stephen Schwartz's rock musical Godspell, but withdrew from the production after just three weeks for contractual reasons.[26]
In 2008, Gately appeared in the independent horror film, Credo which was released in the United States as Devil's Curse.
Philanthropy
Gately was a vice patron of the charity Missing People (formerly National Missing Persons Helpline), supporting their Runaway Helpline service for young people.[27]
Radio
The Colm & Jim-Jim Breakfast Show on Irish radio station RTÉ 2fm has featured sketches involving Gately and Boyzone bandmate Ronan Keating. One such sketch which aired in May 2009 received complaints for its use of "foul and offensive language" at 8:55 am.[28][29][30] The sketch included Keating requesting advice from Gately on how to cope with itchiness of the groin he had contracted after waxing and a plan for the pair to assault their bandmate Mikey Graham with the help of a snooker cue.[28][29][30]
Writing
During the three years prior to his death, Gately had been writing a children's fantasy novel called The Tree of Seasons. In an April 2009 interview with the Press Association he declared that he was nearly finished, had publisher interest, and hoped for a Christmas 2009 release.[31]
Personal life
Gately split from his first boyfriend, Stephen Howard, in 1993. Howard became a heroin addict and in 1995 committed suicide by hanging.[11]
On 16 June 1999, The Sun newspaper covered its front page with what it described as a "World Exclusive" and the headline, "Boyzone Stephen: I'm gay and I'm in love".[4] At the age of 23, Gately sold his story to the newspaper because he feared a former member of Boyzone's security was about to sell the story. The Sun had two further pages on the story as well as an editorial. Gately also revealed that in 1998 he had started a relationship with the then 27 year-old Eloy de Jong, who had been in the Dutch boy band Caught in the Act.[4] They had first met in 1995. Female fans were heartbroken when they discovered the truth.[32]
From 2000 to 2002, Gately suffered from depression and addiction to prescription drugs.[11]
Gately and de Jong split up in January 2002; Gately subsequently moved back to Dublin. After remaining single for a while, Gately started dating Andrew Cowles, an internet businessman,[33] who had been introduced to him by mutual friends Elton John and David Furnish. Gately and Cowles held a commitment ceremony in a wedding chapel whilst on holiday in Las Vegas in 2003. On 19 March 2006, Gately entered into a civil partnership with Cowles in a ceremony in London.[34] The couple lived together in the North London village of Highgate and were active in the local community.[35] Gately spoke of his love for the village, saying he "wouldn't move away for the world. It has a great vibe and the people here are brilliant".[35] In July 2009, their home was broken into by thieves who took £80,000 of items, including a prized Rolex watch which Gately had purchased with his first pay check.[35] Gately was based in London until his death.[36]
His manager Louis Walsh was unaware of Gately's sexuality when he selected him for Boyzone and has said that, had he known, he would have thought twice before picking him, claiming less than a year before his death that "it wasn't cool then to have a gay guy in a band".[7] Walsh described Gately as his "very, very best friend" after the the singer's death,[37] saying: "Of all the people I've worked with I don't think anybody thanked me as much as Stephen. He used to always say to me, 'If I wasn't in Boyzone I don't know where I'd be today, thank you'".[38]
Death
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Wikinews has related news: Boyzone member Stephen Gately dies at age 33 |
On 6 October 2009, Gately posted on Twitter, saying: "Still busy, lots going on. Focussing on finishing my book next so may be quiet here".[39][40][41] He had attended the Pride of Britain Awards in London before flying to his apartment in Majorca.[13]
Gately's body was discovered on 10 October 2009, by Bulgarian Georgi Dochev,[42][43] in the apartment which Gately owned with Cowles near Port d'Andratx on the western tip of Majorca in Spain.[16][44][45][46][47] After meeting up at the Black Cat club in Majorca's capital Palma on the Friday night, the three had returned to the apartment. Dochev then exited the bedroom in the early hours to find Gately, and returned to the bedroom to awaken a sleeping Cowles.[42][43][16] Spanish police were alerted at 1:45 pm by Cowles, after he had tried to revive Gately.[48] Gately was found squatting in an awkward way on a sofa, dressed in his pyjamas.[40] Police said they had no reason to believe the death was related to abuse of substances such as drugs or alcohol and no suicide note or signs of violence were located on the corpse.[48] The Gately family enlisted celebrity solicitor Gerald Kean as their official spokesperson; Kean ruled out foul play and suicide, describing it as "just a tragic accident".[6][49][50][51][33][52] It was Kean, Gately's solicitor throughout his career, who informed the four remaining band members that Gately had died.[36]
Gately's bandmates flew out to Majorca on 11 October 2009.[40][49] Louis Walsh is expected to join them soon. The surviving members of Boyzone, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating and Shane Lynch, issued a joint statement:
We are completely devastated by the loss of our friend and brother, Stephen. We have shared such wonderful times together over the years and were all looking forward to sharing many more. Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. He lit up our lives and those of the many friends he had all over the world. Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen's family. We love you and will miss you forever, 'Steo'.[53]
An investigation into the circumstances of Gately's death was underway, with police concentrating on a night out he had with Cowles.[40] A post-mortem and toxicology tests took place on 13 October and this examination showed that Gately died of natural causes due to pulmonary oedema.[54] He paternally inherited the condition.[51] Toxicology also confirmed the statement by Gately's partner Cowles that he had been smoking cannabis that evening.[55][56]
On 16 October, his body will be brought from Majorca to Dublin where his funeral will take place at the Church of St Laurence O'Toole the following day.[57][58][59][60] He will be buried in the city that afternoon.[61][62] Fans have travelled from as far as Taiwan to be at the funeral.[63]
Reaction
Fans responded with messages of sympathy on the social networking website Facebook.[39] Wellwishers from as far away as Wales left flowers outside the singer's deathplace.[64] Thousands of pounds have been donated by fans to a Stoke-based children's charity which Gately had endorsed.[65] The Google search term "Stephen Gately" was said to have "risen exponentially" and remained at the top for several days after the singer's death.[66][67] The search term "Boyzone" also ranked highly, being separated from "Stephen Gately" only by second-placed searches for "Nobel Peace Prize" following an unexpected victory by U.S. President Barack Obama.[67] Boyzone's record catalogue was propelled back into the music charts.[8] The single "No Matter What", on which Gately is a prominent vocalist, received heavy play on radio.[25] Boyzone manager Louis Walsh is quoted as saying: "We're all absolutely devastated. I'm in complete shock. I was only with him on Monday at an awards ceremony. We don't know much about what's happened yet. I only heard after The X Factor [UK television talent show on which Walsh is a judge] and we will rally around each other this week. He was a great man."[39][68] Walsh dropped out of the 11 October 2009 live televised results episode of The X Factor as a direct result of Gately's death.[49][69][70] Simon Cowell addressed the issue at the start of the programme.[49] That edition of the show attracted an "absolutely huge" audience which was said to have been seeking updates on the singer's death.[71] Walsh will also miss episodes of The X Factor which coincide with Gately's funeral,[72][73][19] at which Walsh was too upset to speak.[74] My First Time, a stage show which was set to star bandmember Keith Duffy, was cancelled entirely.[75] Duffy, Graham, Keating and Lynch had memorial "76 09" tattoos engraved on their bodies when they brought Gately's body home.[76][77]
Irish boyband Westlife said: "We are, like everyone else, in shock today. We met Stephen Gately back in ‘98 when we first started out and since then have had the pleasure of meeting him many times. He and the Boyzone lads paved the way for us as a band. He was a friendly, positive spirit and a passionate performer. Our thoughts are with Andy and the rest of his family, his friends, his legions of fans and of course his bandmates Keith, Mikey, Shane and Ronan who will be devastated at the loss of a truly beautiful person.".[78] Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: "It's so sad. Boyzone and Stephen, they've all been part of Irish life and far wider than that, the last 15 years, and so successful, so it's a huge, huge tragedy. He was 33 years of age, 15 years at the top, a fine musician, it's just a huge tragedy to Irish entertainment, Irish music and further afield as well".[79] Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen paid tribute: "Stephen Gately was a gifted young man with a talent for singing which brought him tremendous success as a member of Boyzone and also as a West End star. There was a joy about his music making, and his death at such a young age is both a personal and professional loss".[79] Andrew Lloyd Webber said it is "a great loss to the musical world".[40] Elton John said he and his partner David Furnish were "stunned" when they heard the news.[79] Katherine Jenkins twittered of "memories 2 cherish" from a night out in the weeks leading up to his death.[79] Stephen Fry described Gately's demise as "a dreadful shock".[79] "This was not supposed to happen. This was not in the script", said music historian Paul Gambaccini.[80]
UK television personality Paul O'Grady said he was "haunted" by Gately's death and based his decision to move back to ITV from Channel 4 on a phone call with Louis Walsh during which they discussed Gately's death.[81]
Jan Moir controversy
An article by Jan Moir in the Daily Mail on 16 October 2009[82] which linked Gately's death to his homosexual lifestyle drew over 1,000 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC),[83] causing its site to crash for several hours.[84] Derren Brown and Stephen Fry used Twitter to front an online campaign against the Daily Mail and Jan Moir throughout the afternoon and a Facebook page was set up urging followers to complain to the brands whose advertisements featured alongside the article.[84] Fry tweeted: "I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and inhumane".[85][86] David Tennant's Facebook page published a message asking outraged readers to report the Daily Mail to the Press Complaints Commission. [87]
The matter became serious enough for retailer Marks & Spencer to request the newspaper to remove an advertisement for its services from anywhere near the vicinity of the article, with the company issuing a statement which read: "Marks & Spencer does not tolerate any form of discrimination".[88] Nestlé also disassociated themselves with the article, saying Moir's words contradicted the company's values of "mutual respect and tolerance, regardless of culture, religion or nationality".[84] The company's Nescafé brand was featured alongside the article.[84] The Daily Mail then removed all advertising from the online version of the article.[84] Moir responded to the controversy by criticising what she claimed was "clearly a heavily orchestrated internet campaign" and said it was "mischievous in the extreme to suggest that my article has homophobic and bigoted undertones".[89] The Guardian's Charlie Brooker, whilst "struggling to absorb the sheer scope of [Moir's] hateful idiocy", accused her of "dancing" on Gately's grave before he had even been buried.[90] Caitlin Moran of The Times said the article was "vile".[91] The Daily Telegraph's Damian Thompson said "Moir’s reputation is in tatters this evening".[92] The PCC have contacted the Gately family and will investigate upon receiving a formal complaint.[84]
Discography
Albums
- New Beginning (2000, Universal Music) [UK#9]
# Title Length 1. "New Beginning" 2. "I Believe" 3. "If Only You Were Here" 4. "Stay" 5. "Wanna Be Where You Are" 6. "Where Do You Go" 7. "Judgement Day" 8. "You Lied" 9. "Far From Love" 10. "Just Can't Say Goodbye" 11. "Do Without Me" 12. "Coming Back" 13. "Bright Eyes" Singles
- 2000: "New Beginning"/"Bright Eyes" [UK #3]
- 2000: "I Believe" (theme from Billy Elliot)" [UK #11]
- 2001: "Stay" [UK #13]
Other songs
- 1999: "Chiquitita" - from the ABBAMania compilation album
- 2007: "Children of Tomorrow" - from Doctor Who - Horror Of Glam Rock audio book soundtrack
References
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