Home : R.I.P. : Irish Boy Bander Dies Suddenly in Spain

R.I.P.
Irish Boy Bander Dies Suddenly in Spain

Posted Oct 11th 2009 10:02AM by TMZ Staff

Stephen GatelyStephen Gately, part of the Irish boy band Boyzone, was found dead while on vacation in Spain. He was 33.

The circumstances of his death are still unclear -- the band released a statement that simply said he "tragically died."

Boyzone was one of the biggest acts in Ireland in the 1990s. The band had announced a comeback tour last year.

Gately became something of a gay icon in the U.K. after he announced he was gay 10 years ago. He married his partner Andrew Cowles (Elton John introduced them) in a civil union in 2006.

Tags: boy band, BoyBand, boyzone, dead, died, irish, spain, stephen gately, StephenGately

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1. I'm waiting to see what he overdosed on, it seems to be the trend this year in music deaths.

Posted at 10:24AM on Oct 11th 2009 by Steve

2.
Sad for him and his friends and family. I would have thought more information than "tragically died" would be available, though.

Seems a bit veiled and secretive to announce a death without details.

Posted at 10:27AM on Oct 11th 2009 by shuffler

3. You're a wee bit late with that news TMZ... That's been in the news for 8 or 9 hours at least.

Posted at 10:33AM on Oct 11th 2009 by Gav

4. It's a shame, this guy was so young. Back in my day you was happy just drinking martinis and screwing broads.

Dem gays are just asking for trouble. My stools come out straighter than this guy.

Posted at 10:36AM on Oct 11th 2009 by Frank Sinatra

5. Maybe he choked on something round ??

Posted at 10:39AM on Oct 11th 2009 by mpmp

6. Just my thoughts, It sounds like they are covering up another drug overdose.C'mon TMZ, Put your Hound Dogs on the trail ,and get the story.

Posted at 10:46AM on Oct 11th 2009 by homie1kanobe

7. This is from ENGLAND. People on this site want to make remarks that are not nice. Stephen probably had to much to drink and died on his own vomit or alcohol poisoning. I have never head of him talking drugs.

Posted at 10:50AM on Oct 11th 2009 by sheilab_UK

8. Stephen was a well respected performer in Ireland. His fans were interested in his talent in music and on stage. This is a very tough time for his family, husband and friends so his fans are concerned about them and Stephen's legacy. We are not interested in contriving sordid details of his death. Foul play and death by suicide have been ruled out and as such "tragically died" suffices as a reasonable statement at this point. It is appropriate to mourne, show respect and not crack jokes at respected deceased. Generally the rest of these comments are distasteful, disrespectful and ignorant.

Posted at 10:54AM on Oct 11th 2009 by boyzone fan Dublin

9. Who?

And Boyzone sounds like the name of either a gay bar or a place where gay pedophiles meet to oogle.

Posted at 11:02AM on Oct 11th 2009 by markko

10. 8. Stephen was a well respected performer in Ireland. His fans were interested in his talent in music and on stage. This is a very tough time for his family, husband and friends so his fans are concerned about them and Stephen's legacy. We are not interested in contriving sordid details of his death. Foul play and death by suicide have been ruled out and as such "tragically died" suffices as a reasonable statement at this point. It is appropriate to mourne, show respect and not crack jokes at respected deceased. Generally the rest of these comments are distasteful, disrespectful and ignorant.

Posted at 10:54AM on Oct 11th 2009 by boyzone fan Dublin



Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/11/stephen-gately-boyzone-dead/#comments#ixzz0TdkQz0Qe

Yeah, just ask Michael Jackson. He knows all too well what it's like to be dragged through the mud before all the facts are in.

Posted at 11:08AM on Oct 11th 2009 by janalal4

11. Interesting that comments on newspapers and celebrity sites in the UK are *universally* messages of kindness, wishing he rest in peace, etc. This surprised me because I'm hyper-aware of the homophobic comments Murdoch sites (like Sky News inparticular) tend to attract.

So I skip over to an American celeb news site and in stark contrast the first handful of comments are making assumptions about drug use, and already dominated by homophobic remarks.

It says a lot about your culture, and how it dehumanizes celebrity, eh, America?

Posted at 11:21AM on Oct 11th 2009 by Fad

12. Your Article is WRONG and your Quote is WRONG

and I quote YOUR Article

"The circumstances of his death are still unclear -- the band released a statement that simply said he "tragically died."


The Correct Information is

A message on the band's official website said: "Stephen tragically died whilst on holiday in Majorca yesterday.

"He was there with his partner Andrew. At present we don't have too many details. The rest of the boyz will be travelling to Majorca."

So if you are going to quote something make sure your quote everything rather than making it look like something it isnt.

Posted at 11:24AM on Oct 11th 2009 by Ian UK

13. To: Fad

Making broad assumptions or coming to sweeping conclusions about a culture or an entire country of people just based on less than a dozen comments on a gossip site is rather ignorant to say the least. Your comment says more about you than anyone else here.

Posted at 11:46AM on Oct 11th 2009 by es

14. My husbands cousin died a few months ago aged 34. She went to bed and simply didn't wake up. Nothing suspicious. It happens. Just because Stephen was a celebrity and gay does not mean his death was drug related etc. I also didn't realise there were so many homophobes and sick people out there.

Posted at 12:14PM on Oct 11th 2009 by JCB

15. I really can't imagine he would ever have been into drugs. He was a lovely, lovely bloke. Just one of those really nice, gentle people. I am so sad about this. Boyzone were HUGE in Europe in the 90s.

Fad - I imagine the response was different between the UK and America because in the UK he was very well known and he never seemed like the type of person to take drugs. While it's not an unfair assumption that a famous person who died young and unexpectedly was involved in drugs it does seem mad if you are talking about Stephen Gately. He was the whiter than white type of bloke.
I'm not saying it's impossible by any means but it is unlikely.

Posted at 12:02PM on Oct 11th 2009 by Becky, UK

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