Stephen Patrick David Gately (17 March 1976 â€" 10 October 2009) was
an Irish pop singer-songwriter, actor, children's writer, and dancer,
who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone.
All of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one
in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful
internationally. With Boyzone, Gately had a record-breaking sixteen
consecutive singles enter the top five of the UK Singles Chart. He
performed for millions of fans globally. He released a solo album in
2000, after the group's initial break-up, 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 stage productions
and on television programmes as well as contributing songs to various
projects. In 2008, he rejoined his colleagues as Boyzone reformed for
a series of concerts and recordings.Gately made his sexuality known in
1999 and came out in a blaze of publicity. He 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. Upon Boyzone's
reformation, Gately featured as part of the first gay couple in a
boyband music video for "Better", in what was to be his last with the
band. Gately died of a congenital heart defect in a flat that he and
Cowles owned in Mallorca, Spain in 2009. Brian Boyd in The Irish Times
stated: "Stephen Gately's death represents the first time that the
boyband genre has had to deal with such a tragic situation". Tim
Teeman of The Times (UK) heralded Gately as a hero of gay rights for
his response to being "smoked out of the closet".Gately grew up in
relative poverty in the working-class Sheriff Street area of Dublin.
He was the fourth of five children; his father Martin was a former
decorator and his mother, Margaret (born 1949) a cleaner. His siblings
are Michelle, Tony, Alan and Mark. He was particularly close to sister
Michelle throughout his life. Gately's father had an accident as a
result of which he had to be hospitalised for three months from
September 2004, and has not returned to work. His mother then took
over as full-time carer. Gately attended primary school at St Laurence
O'Toole's and secondary school at North Strand Technical College. As a
teenager he appeared in various musicals and theatre performances at
school, such as Juno and the Paycock. He was estranged from his
parents for years, but reconciled with them in 2008, and visited them
with Andrew Cowles that year.
an Irish pop singer-songwriter, actor, children's writer, and dancer,
who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone.
All of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one
in the United Kingdom, their third being their most successful
internationally. With Boyzone, Gately had a record-breaking sixteen
consecutive singles enter the top five of the UK Singles Chart. He
performed for millions of fans globally. He released a solo album in
2000, after the group's initial break-up, 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 stage productions
and on television programmes as well as contributing songs to various
projects. In 2008, he rejoined his colleagues as Boyzone reformed for
a series of concerts and recordings.Gately made his sexuality known in
1999 and came out in a blaze of publicity. He 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. Upon Boyzone's
reformation, Gately featured as part of the first gay couple in a
boyband music video for "Better", in what was to be his last with the
band. Gately died of a congenital heart defect in a flat that he and
Cowles owned in Mallorca, Spain in 2009. Brian Boyd in The Irish Times
stated: "Stephen Gately's death represents the first time that the
boyband genre has had to deal with such a tragic situation". Tim
Teeman of The Times (UK) heralded Gately as a hero of gay rights for
his response to being "smoked out of the closet".Gately grew up in
relative poverty in the working-class Sheriff Street area of Dublin.
He was the fourth of five children; his father Martin was a former
decorator and his mother, Margaret (born 1949) a cleaner. His siblings
are Michelle, Tony, Alan and Mark. He was particularly close to sister
Michelle throughout his life. Gately's father had an accident as a
result of which he had to be hospitalised for three months from
September 2004, and has not returned to work. His mother then took
over as full-time carer. Gately attended primary school at St Laurence
O'Toole's and secondary school at North Strand Technical College. As a
teenager he appeared in various musicals and theatre performances at
school, such as Juno and the Paycock. He was estranged from his
parents for years, but reconciled with them in 2008, and visited them
with Andrew Cowles that year.
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