Stephen Gately
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Stephen Patrick David Gately (born 17 March 1976 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish pop singer who was in the boy band Boyzone until 2000, who has since gone on to a solo career and acting roles.
In June 1999, at the age of 23, Gately discovered someone was trying to sell a story to the papers about his homosexuality, so Gately decided to tell the fans himself. He publicly announced that he was gay.
It was a brave move from a young man who has thousands of young fans, mostly girls and is part of one of the most talked about boy bands of the past decade. In coming out' so publicly Stephen, broke barriers that had previously existed for gay artists and has paved the way for others. If Stephen had a band persona it is the modest, gentle, vulnerable and prone to blushing one. Fame and fortune has not changed him, he is true to himself and he admits freely that at the time of his coming out, he was a bit nervous about the reaction he would get. Of course the rest of the band and their loyal fans gave Stephen the support he needed
Having achieved so much with Boyzone, the band decided that in 2000 they would spend some time on solo projects. Stephen was the first of the boys to strike with his debut solo single titled New Beginning' and then his debut solo album, also named New Beginning'.
The album ‘New Beginning' is a testament to where Stephen has come from, both personally and professionally. The album included 12 brand new tracks including Stephen's version of the classic track Bright Eyes' which he recorded for the soundtrack to the new TV version of the classic Watership Down'. They also asked him to do a voice-over for one of the characters ‘Blackavar' which was created to look like him. Other standout tracks on the album include ‘Stay' and the hit single ‘I Believe' (taken from the Billy Elliot' soundtrack). New Beginning' really showed how Stephen had grown as an artist and performer and produced a debut album of real quality.
On May 29 2000, ‘New Beginning' was released. Stephen's first bold step into the solo world reached number 3 in the UK charts. Two weeks later the album was released which also entered the charts in Stephen's familiar top chart territory
The second single to be taken from the album was the beautiful ‘I Believe' which was released on 2nd October 2001. Taken from the soundtrack to the smash hit film "Billy Elliot", this song became another hit to add to Stephen's collection. Stephen was inspired to record this track after he had seen the film. Much like his own story it chronicles a young boy achieving success in the face of adversity. Stephen attended the premieres of the film both at the Edinburgh Film Festival and in Empire, Leicester Square, London along with the actors from the film including Julie Walters and Jamie Bell. In April 2001, Stephen's third single, taken from New Beginning', entitled ‘Stay' was released and reached No 11 in the UK chart.
In May 2001 it was announced that Stephen had parted company with his record company. Polydor and he decided that after so many years of constantly being on the road with Boyzone and then subsequently as a solo artist the time was right for him to take a break from the music business for a while.
In December 2002 Stephen came back refreshed and with a bang – playing the lead role in Bill Kenwright’s new production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 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. Stephen received fantastic reviews for Joseph and played to enthusiastic audiences until September 2003 when he left the role for pastures new.
In September 2004 Stephen took on a quite different role where he became quite unrecognisable after being transformed into the evil Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium delighting audiences until March 2005.
Stephen has recently become a vice patron of National Missing Persons Helpline and is pleased to be supporting the Runaway Helpline which provides an essential service for vulnerable people in their time of need and is a vital resource.
Stephen made his debut in pantomime at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley in December 2005 starring as Dandini in Cinderella and showcased another of his talents by writing a song called A Brighter Day especially for the show.
In April 2006 Stephen will take on another new role in his musical theatre career - as the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
There is no doubt Stephen belongs performing. When asked about his career he said ‘The bottom line is I want to be on the stage and singing – that is what my whole life is about. It is in my blood, I could never give it up.’
Discography
Albums
- New Beginning (2000)
Singles
- "New Beginning/Bright Eyes"
- "I Believe (theme from Billy Elliot)"
- "Stay"
External links
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