Stephen Gately 1976 - 2009

He was on holidays in Majorca at the time and had been out with friends. He went to sleep and, according to reports, “never woke up.” The cause of his death has not yet been established.

Alongside Ronan Keating, Gately was one of the two lead singers in Boyzone and was regarded as one of the most talented members of the band. Following the original winding down of Boyzone, Gately had gone on the pursue a career in the West End, and had appeared in a number of musicals, including Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Godspell. While his solo career never ignited spectacularly, his debut single ‘New Beginning’ went to No.3 in the UK charts.

Gately was gay, a fact of which Boyzone manager Louis Walsh was unaware when he selected him as a member of the band. He went through a difficult period, not knowing when or how to reveal the truth about his sexuality, but did so in 1999, when he revealed the relationship he was in with Eloy de Jong, also a member of a boy band. His coming out was celebrated in the Irish gay community. That relationship split and he became involved with Andrew Cowles, with whom he entered a civil partnership in 2006.

Hot Press extends condolences to Stephen Gately’s family, friends and to the member of Boyzone. “He was a lovely, warm, decent guy,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. “It is terribly sad news. My heart goes out to everyone who was close to Stephen. They will be devastated at the loss of someone very special.”

"We're all absolutely devastated,” Louis Walsh said. “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 X-Factor and we will rally around each other this week. He was a great man."