Stephen Gately
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| Stephen Gately | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Stephen Patrick David Gately | |
| Born | March 17, 1976 Dublin, Ireland |
|
| Genre(s) | Pop | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor, songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | Singing | |
| Years active | 1993 to present | |
| Associated acts |
Boyzone | |
| Website | http://www.stephengately.co.uk | |
Stephen Patrick David Gately (born St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1976 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish pop singer who was in the boy band Boyzone until 2000, and subsequently pursued a solo career and acting roles.
After success with Boyzone, the band decided in 2000 to move on to solo projects. Stephen was the first with his debut solo single titled New Beginning and later a debut solo album of the same name.
The album New Beginning included 12 brand new tracks including a version of the classic Bright Eyes which he recorded for the soundtrack to the new TV version of Watership Down. He also became the voice of one of the characters ('Blackavar') which was created to look like him.
On 29 May 2000, the single New Beginning was released and reached number #3 in the UK charts. Two weeks later the album was released and also entered the charts.
The second single taken from the album was I Believe. Released on 2 October 2001 this song also featured on the soundtrack to the film Billy Elliot and just missed the UK top ten peaking at #11. Gately inspired to record this track after he had seen the film. He attended the premieres of the film both at the Edinburgh Film Festival and at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, along with the actors from the film including Julie Walters and Jamie Bell. In April 2001, Stephen's third single entitled Stay was released and reached #13 in the UK chart. In May 2001 it was announced he had parted company with his record company, Polydor.
Contents |
[edit] Coming out as gay
On 16 June 1999 The Sun newspaper covered its front page with what it described as a "World Exclusive" and the headline, "Boyzone Stephen: I'm gay and I'm in love". At the age of 23, Stephen Gately had given the story to the newspaper because he feared that a former member of Boyzone's security was about to sell the story. The Sun had two further pages on the story as well as an editorial.
Stephen Gately also revealed that in 1998 he had started a relationship with the then 25 years-old Eloy de Jong, who had been in the Dutch boy band Caught in the Act. They had first met in 1995 at a show business event (see [1]).
On 19 March 2006 Stephen married his long term partner Andrew Cowles, in a civil ceremony in London.
[edit] Stage career
In December 2002 Gately took the lead role in Bill Kenwright's new production of the 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 praise for his portrayal of Joseph[citation needed], and stayed in the role until September 2003.
In September 2004 Gately took on a different role: the evil Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, at the London Palladium until March 2005.
Stephen made his pantomime debut at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley in December 2005 starring as Dandini in Cinderella. He also showcased another of his talents by writing a song, A Brighter Day, especially for the show.
In April 2006 Gately took on the role of "The Scarecrow" in The Wizard of Oz at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
In January 2007, Gately will be heard in Horror of Glam Rock, a Doctor Who audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions for BBC7. For this audio play, Gately has recorded an original song, "Children of Tomorrow", with music by Tim Sutton and lyrics by Barnaby Edwards; this is his first solo track since 2001's "Stay".[1]
"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." - Gately
[edit] Philanthropy
Stephen has recently become a vice patron of the National Missing Persons Helpline and is supporting the Runaway Helpline.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- New Beginning (2000)#9
[edit] Singles
- New Beginning/Bright Eyes
- I Believe (theme from Billy Elliot)"
- Stay
