Stephen Gately

Stephen Patrick David Gately (17 March 1976 - 10 October 2009) was an Irish pop singer, writer and actor, who, with Ronan Keating, was one of two lead singers in the boy band Boyzone. All of the band's studio albums hit number one in the UK, their third and last being their most successful internationally. He had a Top 10 solo album in 2000, after the band's initial breakup. Gately went on to appear variously in stage productions and on television programmes as well recording further solo material. In 2008, he rejoined his bandmates as Boyzone reformed for a series of concerts and recordings.
Gately wed Andrew Cowles, first in a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas in 2003 and more formally in a civil partnership ceremony in London in 2006.
After success with Boyzone, the band decided in 2000 to move on to solo projects. Gately 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 was 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 May 2001, Stephen's third single, "Stay", was released and reached #13 in the UK chart. That month, with his single still on the charts, his record company, Polydor, dropped him from their label.
In January 2007, Gately was heard in Horror of Glam Rock, a Doctor Who audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions for BBC7. For this audio play, Gately recorded an original song, "Children of Tomorrow", with music by Tim Sutton and lyrics by Barnaby Edwards; this was his first solo track since 2001's "Stay".