Stephen Gately 1976 - 2009

Stephen Gately was born on 17th March 1976 and died from natural causes on 10th October 2009. He was an Irish pop singer who was one of the lead singers of the pop group Boyzone.

Gately grew up in Sheriff Street, a working class area of Dublin; the fourth of five children of Martin and Margaret. His siblings Michelle, Tony, Alan and Mark all remained a presence throughout his life and with Stephen attended St Laurence O Tooles primary school and North Strand Technical College secondary school.

Gately joined Boyzone when he was 16 years old in 1993 and started the trail of success with the band. Their first public appearance on The Late Late Show became infamous and was dismissed by the shows presenter although when the band had 6 number one hits, 16 top twenty hits, 4 number one albums and sold in excess of 20 million records, it was they that had the last laugh!

The group split in 2000 and Stephen Gately went on to have a solo career both in pop music and musical theatre. His debut single reached number three with two others reaching the top twenty and the album itself hitting the charts with a storm.
Gately was also involved with many productions including Little Shop of Horrors, Watership Down, he took the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End as well as staring in Child Catcher and Chitty Chitty Bang Bag at the London Palladium.

Following his successful solo career and various acting and theatre roles, Gately and Boyzone reformed and sold out two tours of the UK. At the time of Gately’s death the band had planned to record a new album to be released in 2010.
Stephen Gately was a patron of the charity Missing People (formerly National Missing Person Helpline) and supported their Runaway Helpline service for young people. He was also an ambassador for the Caudwell Children Charity in Stoke raising thousands of pounds for his various charities.

Gately was a pioneer for gay rights and came out in 1999 through the The Sun newspaper, fearing he was about to be outed by a member of his security team. This was revolutionary for a boyband member at this time. Stephen Gately and long time partner Andrew Cowles entered into a Civil Partnership in 2006 in London. The couple remained living in London in the affluent village of Highgate until Gately’s death.

Stephen Gately’s body was discovered on 10th October 2009 in the apartment that he and Cowles owned near Port d’Andratx in Western Majorca. Police declared that Gately’s death was a tragic accident and the post mortem confirmed this. His funeral was held in Dublin on at the Church of St Laurence O Toole on 17th October 2009 and was attended by family and friends with thousands of fans lining the street to pay respects.