Stephen Gately, Pop Star and West End Performer, Dies at 33

By Mark Shenton
12 Oct 2009

Stephen Gately
Stephen Gately

Stephen Gately, of the boyband Boyzone, who shared the majority of lead vocal work with Ronan Keating and who subsequently starred in West End musicals, has died at the age of 33. He was found dead Oct. 10 at his holiday apartment on the Spanish island of Majorca.

Mr. Gately sang the lead vocals on "No Matter What," the fourth of Boyzone's six Number One British singles, taken from the score to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Whistle Down the Wind. The Dublin-born singer also scored a solo chart hit with ""I Believe," from the soundtrack to the film "Billy Elliot", as well as a cover of "Bright Eyes."

He has also starred in the West End in the title role of Bill Kenwright's production of Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the New London Theatre in 2003, and subsequently took over the role of the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium in 2004. He has also starred as Dandini in a Christmas production of Cinderella at Bromley's Churchill Theatre in 2005, the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz in Canterbury in 2006, and as Jesus in a touring production of Godspell in 2007, though he left the latter early in its run following what were reported to be contractual problems.

In a press statement, his fellow bandmembers from Boyzone have said, "We are devastated by the loss of our friend and brother Stephen. He lit up our lives. Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew [Mr. Gately's civil partner] and Stephen's family."