Star Tragedy: Remembering Stephen Gately 15 Years On

The Boyzone beautiful voice that silenced too soon, how an Irish local hero changed pop music forever.

Fifteen years ago this month, the music world woke up to heartbreaking news that shook Ireland to its core.

On 10 October 2009, Stephen Patrick David Gately, Boyzone’s beloved co-lead singer and one of Britain and Ireland’s most cherished pop stars, was found dead at the age of just 33 in his holiday apartment in Port d’Andratx, Mallorca, Spain.

From Sheriff Street To Superstardom

Born on 17 March 1976 in Dublin’s working-class Sheriff Street area, Stephen grew up in relative poverty as the fourth of five children. His father Martin worked as a decorator while his mother Margaret cleaned homes.

«We met Stephen Gately back in 1998 when we first started out and since then had the pleasure of meeting him many times», recalled fellow Irish group Westlife, who paid tribute following his death.

«Himself and the Boyzone lads paved the way for us as a band».

Yet Stephen’s success brought immense pride to his North Wall community, where neighbours still mourned deeply when tragedy struck.

Boyzone Brilliance

Alongside Ronan Keating, Stephen served as co-lead vocalist of Boyzone from 1993 to 2009. Every studio album released during his lifetime topped the UK charts.

According to Wikipedia, the group achieved a remarkable sixteen consecutive singles entering the UK top five, a record-breaking run that cemented their place in pop history.

His third album with the band remained their most successful internationally.

Brave Coming-Out Moment

In 1999, Stephen publicly disclosed his sexuality at a time when such announcements carried significant professional risk in the music industry.

He became publicly committed to businessman Andrew Cowles, first holding a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas (2003) and later formalising their union with a civil partnership ceremony in London (2006).

Upon Boyzone’s reformation, Stephen featured as part of the first gay couple in a boyband music video for «Better» — marking an historic moment for LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream pop.

Tim Teeman of The Times hailed him as «a hero of gay rights» for his response to being publicly outed.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: «It’s so sad. Boyzone and Stephen, they’ve all been part of Irish life and far wider than that, the last 15 years… it’s just a huge, huge tragedy to Irish entertainment, Irish music» (wikipedia.org).

The Tragic Discovery

Stephen was found by Cowles in their holiday flat on the Spanish island. A post-mortem examination established he died of acute pulmonary oedema, fluid building up in the lungs, arising from natural causes.

Scientists attributed the death to **sudden arrhythmic death syndrome **(SADS), a congenital heart defect (stephen-gately.org, bbc.com).

His family rejected claims he’d been drinking heavily, insisting it was a «tragic accident».

Legacy Lives On

Following his death, Stephen’s sister Michelle was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition regarded as a SADS risk factor. She founded the Stephen Gately Trust to raise awareness and purchase defibrillators for wide distribution.

Boyzone’s album Brother (2010) was dedicated to his memory. His vocals appeared on two tracks, including «Give It All Away», which reached No. 1 in Ireland.

A children’s fantasy novel he was writing was published posthumously as The Tree of Seasons (2010).

«Truly Loved Being Centre Stage»

In a statement, Boyzone said: «Stephen lived to perform and truly loved being centre stage. You can be sure he’s looking down on us now wishing we’d move over so he could sing lead!»

Stephen’s passing represented «the first time that the boyband genre has had to deal with such a tragic situation», according to Brian Boyd in The Irish Times.

Remembering A Pioneer

Stephen was among the first prominent Irish figures in entertainment, arts, journalism, politics and sport to come out publicly as gay. His courage contributed to the gradual normalisation of homosexuality in Irish life, helping effect the revolution in public opinion that resulted in the 2015 marriage equality referendum.

He was cremated following his Dublin funeral in October 2009 and does not have a gravesite.

Seventeen years on, his voice still echoes through the halls of pop history, a reminder that sometimes the brightest lights shine too briefly.