Читать книгу Stephen Gately and Boyzone - Blood Brothers 1976-2009 - Emily Herbert - Страница 5

At first glance, the news was just unbelievable: Stephen Gately of the hugely successful Irish boy band Boyzone was dead. Reports were flooding out of Majorca, where Stephen and his civil partner Andrew Cowles owned a holiday home, that the singer had simply keeled over in the night: staggeringly, the news turned out to be true. He was found dead at 1.45pm on Saturday, 10 October 2009, on the sofa in his luxury apartment in Port Andratx, aged just 33. What could possibly have happened?

It was a shock for many other reasons, too. Not only was Stephen far too young to have passed away, but he was also one of the most popular stars Ireland has ever produced and had just enjoyed a new lease of professional life with the reunion of Boyzone in 2008. It seemed just the blink of an eye since Stephen originally hit the big time with Boyzone’s cover version of The Osmonds’ hit single ‘Love Me For A Reason’ – how could this have come to pass?

On top of that, just a decade earlier, he’d made show-business history when he became the first ever member of a boy band to openly admit to being gay. He might have been forced into the declaration through concerns that he was about to be blackmailed, but the wave of public support that followed – and endured – was a revelation as to quite how far times had changed from just a few years previously, when such an admission might well have destroyed his career.

In the first hours and days after Stephen’s body was found, intensive and lurid speculation began to emerge as to what had been behind it all, although the Spanish police were adamant from the very start that there were no suspicious circumstances and no hint of criminality. ‘There was no suicide note or evidence of any drug use or excessive drinking, and the dead man’s friends were at a loss to explain what had happened,’ said a source close to the Spanish police. ‘All we know so far is that they had gone out the night before till late and had quite a few drinks and raised the alert when they found Stephen dead.’

Solicitor and friend of the Gately family Gerald Kean also spoke out. ‘There’s no drugs involved and it’s not suicide,’ he remarked. ‘There is nothing untoward; it’s not drugs, we don’t believe, it’s not suicide, it’s not murder, it’s not a fight. That’s what we’ve been told.’

Meanwhile, as the news began to spread, people were shocked to the core. ‘David and I are stunned by this tragedy,’ said the pop legend Elton John, who with his partner David Furnish had introduced Stephen and Andrew. ‘Stephen was the gentlest, kindest soul. We send our love and condolences to his partner, Andy, and to all his friends everywhere.’

Louis Walsh, the X-Factor judge who discovered Stephen and had been Boyzone’s manager, described himself as ‘absolutely devastated’ and in ‘complete shock’. Indeed, he was so upset by the news that he was forced to cancel an appearance on The X Factor, which was due to be filmed that night.

Producer Simon Cowell added to the general sorrow. ‘I want to say on behalf of the show, this is really, really tragic news and I want to send our condolences to the family,’ he said. ‘Our thoughts are with Louis, who is obviously not here tonight. They were incredibly close. But, as they say, the show goes on.’

Even Bertie Ahern, the former Irish prime minister, was moved to speak. ‘The Gatelys are in my own constituency,’ he said. ‘I know the family, I knew Stephen. He was 33 years of age, 15 at the top, a fine musician – it’s just a huge tragedy to Irish entertainment, Irish music and further afield as well.’

The four remaining members of Boyzone – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch – were beside themselves. They released a statement paying tribute to Stephen, who they called ‘Our friend and brother.’

‘We have shared such wonderful times together over the years and were all looking forward to sharing many more. Stephen was a beautiful person, both in body and spirit. Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen’s family. We will love you and miss you forever, Steo.’

With that, they flew out to Majorca to give Andrew their support. ‘We just need to get over to where he’s passed and work out what we need to do,’ said Shane.

Take That, the English boy band with whom Boyzone had enjoyed an amicable rivalry in the mid-1990s, were also shocked and spoke of Stephen’s tragic passing. ‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to Andrew and Stephen’s family, friends and band mates,’ they wrote on their website.

Indeed, everyone wanted their say. ‘He was loveable and sweet-natured and will be hugely missed,’ Stephen Fry wrote on Twitter.

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen,’ said Paul Gambaccini. ‘This was not in the script.’

But what had really happened? Slowly, details began to emerge. Another man had been at the apartment that night, a Bulgarian called Georgi Dochev, 25. Indeed, it was Georgi who found Stephen’s body: he had met Stephen and Andrew in the Black Cat nightclub in Palma the night before.

‘Stephen was there with Andrew when I arrived at 3am and they were still there when I left at around 5.45am,’ recalled a fellow reveller. ‘They weren’t off their faces, but they were drinking. They weren’t being rowdy – they were just two lads on a night out. Andrew was dancing and Stephen was jigging around. People went up and chatted to them, but it was all very low key.’

Georgi had come back to spend the night with the couple, which gave rise to more lurid speculation about what had gone on. Initially there was speculation that Stephen might have choked on his own vomit, but that turned out to be incorrect, although the trio certainly had been drinking heavily earlier that night.

Gerald Kean, who had become the family’s de facto spokesman, was keen to set the record straight before the official inquest began. He rejected suggestions that Stephen had been on an eight-hour drinking binge: ‘I think all the information that we have would indicate natural causes,’ he said on ITV1’s This Morning. ‘We would certainly hope to get answers following the post mortem.’

Others were also keen to refute suggestions that Stephen and Andrew regularly overdid it. ‘Stephen and Andy were regulars here over the summer,’ said a waitress at the nearby The Gran Follies Beach Club. ‘They were very polite. We knew Stephen was a singer, but he was very modest. They would often come here for a beer or two, but I wouldn’t say they were heavy drinkers.’

Certainly, it seemed very odd. ‘He was in a strange position,’ recalled a police investigator, describing the scene. ‘He was found squatting down on the sofa almost in a praying position. His partner was beside himself with grief and was being comforted in the couple’s bedroom by a neighbour who he’d called on to help.’

The apartment remained shuttered, while Andrew could not bring himself to appear publicly or to speak to the press. By now, the rest of Boyzone had arrived and they were driven to their old friend’s apartment in a Mercedes people carrier, then taken inside without saying anything to the press. However, at other points, they could scarcely contain themselves in their grief: it emerged that Ronan Keating had been running a marathon in Chicago when he heard the news. ‘I’m absolutely devastated,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe it’s real. Stephen was loved by every one of us. He was one of the most caring, compassionate and gentle people I’ve ever known.’

Stephen’s body was taken to Palma’s Institute of Forensic Medicine and an autopsy was to be carried out, although this was delayed for a day as it coincided with a bank holiday in Spain. Standard practice was followed: an investigating judge was assigned to the case, while the formal identification of the body by relatives would not take place until the autopsy had been done.

Georgi Dochev now spoke out, keen to stem the more lurid speculation that was mounting. ‘I found the body – he was very white and cold,’ he said. ‘I discovered the body and the image still haunts me; I’ve barely slept since. I found Stephen dead and I woke his husband. I am still really upset. It is simply not true that I ran from the flat or that I am a suspect. I spoke to the police all of yesterday to tell them what I know.’

Georgi’s English wasn’t very good, but clearly he was extremely taken aback by the tragic turn of events. ‘I was the one who called the ambulance because Andy was too upset,’ he continued. ‘It’s awful, I am in shock and I cannot sleep for days; it is really upsetting. I have only known him for a while. I was with the husband all day on Sunday and I have talked to the police, but I cannot speak of other things. I am still nervous and really upset.’

As for what had happened immediately beforehand, Georgi didn’t want to talk about it. ‘This is not something that I want to… I will forgive this [sic]’ he said. ‘He talk about. Andy and I have been forgiven by the police but I don’t want to say anything else without checking first with him.’

Although Stephen’s body would have to remain in Majorca until the autopsy, plans were now being made to bring him back to Ireland for the burial.

‘It was Stephen’s wishes to be buried in Ireland and, after all they’ve been through together, his band mates want to make sure it happens as soon as possible,’ said a source close to Boyzone. ‘Stephen’s family are desperate to have him home so they can grieve properly. Ronan and the boys volunteered to head over to Majorca to personally oversee arrangements. They’ve done so much together over the years and travelled all over the world touring. Stephen always loved touching down on a plane in Ireland. They know it is what he would have wanted, to have them at his side when he arrived in the country that he loved for the final time.’

The pair had actually been planning a quiet night in and had only decided to go out at the very last minute.

‘I spoke to them on the Saturday evening and they said they were just going to chill out at home,’ revealed a neighbour. ‘Stephen said he was tired and on a health kick, so he was staying off alcohol on his holiday. Something obviously happened to change their minds. I saw them leaving later in the evening and they were in good spirits. Stephen was holding Andy’s hand as they left the apartment and got into a car.’

Andy, unsurprisingly, had fallen to pieces. Deeply shocked by what had happened, he continued to blame himself, although it would soon become apparent that there was nothing he could have done.

‘I will never forgive myself for this,’ he told the other members of Boyzone. ‘He died and I couldn’t help him. I feel like my life is over.’

‘They kept telling Andy that he shouldn’t blame himself, but he just kept crying his eyes out,’ said a source close to the band. ‘The guy is in a deep state of shock and he hasn’t slept for a minute since this tragedy unfolded. He is a total mess and everyone is worried about him. They told him that there is nothing he could have done and that he has to stop blaming himself.’

But Andrew wasn’t the only person that Stephen had been involved with who was shocked by events. Eloy de Jong had been involved with the singer when he had first come out as gay in 1999. Not unnaturally, he was stunned by what had happened and even went so far as to ring him after he knew of the death just to hear Stephen’s voice one last time.

‘I rang him and it went to voicemail, but I didn’t get his voice,’ he said. ‘He didn’t have a message set up. I wanted to hear him just one last time.’

Indeed, Eloy, who was also a pop star (a member of a boy band called Caught In The Act), had been with Stephen through some very difficult times. ‘I remember it being so difficult to let our guard down because we were not yet openly gay,’ he said. ‘Ronan used to help us keep things quiet. We had to be clever about the way we hid our relationship.’

And of course, he was there when Stephen became the first ever member of a boy band to announce that he was gay. ‘We agreed we wouldn’t let anyone blackmail us and we made the decision to tell everyone, because Stephen was in love with me and we felt it was right,’ Eloy continued. ‘Afterwards, it was such a relief for him.’

The two lived together for a while, in Eloy’s home near Amsterdam. ‘Those were great years,’ he recalled. ‘We had a canal boat and used to just leave our mobiles behind, leave all the madness and go on the boat. We loved cooking together. He never ate enough vegetables, so I would make him eat his greens. He used to sing and dance in front of me. He was so talented.’

And Eloy was another to defend his former lover against accusations of excessive behaviour. ‘Stephen was never a big drinker,’ he said. ‘People think that because we were both pop stars we would be taking drugs and drinking all the time, but it wasn’t like that. Stephen wasn’t like that at all. The final time I spoke to Stephen was last year. He rang me for a catch-up. I can’t believe we’ll never speak again. It’s so sad – he was so young, I’ll never forget him.’

On 13 October, the first real indication of what had happened came out when the initial results of a post mortem were announced. It transpired that Stephen had a rare heart condition, that he himself had not been aware of, and had thus succumbed to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), a rare condition which claims 12 men a week in Britain. He had suffered a pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs.

‘His lungs have been waterlogged very suddenly, suggesting the heart had failed,’ announced Dr Sanjay Sharma, an authority on the subject. ‘That is a heart attack. In young people like Stephen, the vast majority of heart attacks are due to either hereditary diseases affecting the heart muscle itself, or an electrical fault of the heart. If I was a betting man, I would say it was an electrical fault. The heart would go into a fatally fast rhythm, around 300 beats a minute. That would only need to happen for a couple of minutes to cause death. Often in these cases, the first symptom is death.’

That, at least, put rest to rumours that Stephen had choked on his own vomit. A court source also backed up the theory. ‘Stephen’s death has nothing to do with any alcohol he drank that night and it has nothing to do with drugs,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying Stephen didn’t vomit, but I can categorically state he did not choke on it.’

It did emerge that Stephen had been smoking cannabis on the night of his death, but the fact did not appear to have had any bearing on what occurred.

Given that it was clear by now that death was from natural causes, this also meant that Stephen’s family would soon be able to take their loved one home. ‘The family desperately want Stephen to be back in Ireland where he belongs,’ revealed a family friend. ‘They were shocked by the results. The band had regular medicals when they toured and he was generally clean living, fit and healthy. They take comfort that Stephen died in a house he loved, near someone who loved him, and may simply have fallen asleep and not woken up.’

But that was not entirely an end to the affair: full results were expected in an announcement in November. However, enough information had been released to quell the more lurid rumours, as well as to allow the proper funeral arrangements to be made.

‘There were no signs of violence,’ said a court spokesman. ‘The judge has authorised Stephen’s family to take his body back home. The court will wait for definite results of tests from Barcelona. While they wait, the investigation is open. Stephen’s husband has [been] declared as a witness. The judge will take statements from the other witness present. If all these steps confirm natural causes, the case will be closed.’

As matters began to calm down, Louis Walsh went on the Irish TV network RTE, where he reminisced about his friend and protégé. ‘We’re all in shock,’ he said sadly. ‘Nobody can believe it – the guys, me, nobody. We are in shock. The boys are devastated. It’s like they have lost their very, very best friend – and me, too. His best friend was his sister Michelle. I don’t know how she is coping. The boys are like his family now. The four boys were like four daddies for him.’

Stephen started out from a very humble background to ascend to the dizzy heights of fame. ‘He came from Sheriff Street,’ Louis recalled. ‘He was a very working-class kid. All he wanted to do was sing and go to the West End, and he loved Disney, that was Stephen. Of all the people I’ve worked with, I don’t think anybody thanked me as much as Stephen. He used to always say to me, “If I wasn’t in Boyzone, I don’t know where I’d be today, thank you.” A great, great, great professional kid.’

And Louis also recalled how worried Stephen had been in the early days of his fame, before he officially came out. ‘He lived in fear,’ he admitted. ‘He lived in absolute fear of the media and the media outed him in the end, but it was a fantastic reaction. There was no negativity. He loved to go out and party and have a good time, but he was very, very good living. He was a one-off. All Stephen lived for was to be singing music. I think he was the glue in the band, because he kept everyone happy.’

Stephen also took a good deal of interest in his mentor’s work on The X Factor. Talking to another interviewer, Louis revealed, ‘He used to text me during X Factor, telling me who he liked and who he didn’t. We had some incredible nights out in London; we’d always go somewhere fabulous. We’d gossip, have fun, fall around being silly – he was so happy. The band had never been in a better place. I have never seen a band so close. We were always having a laugh, always. Stephen would send me funny texts. He was like a child, wanting to be loved.’

Indeed, the pair had met up only a week previously, full of plans for the future.

‘I wanted him to do Celebrity Big Brother,’ said Louis. ‘He said he’d think about it, but he didn’t want to do it. He wanted to be in the musical Jersey Boys. He told me, “That’s all I want.”’

If nothing else, the results of the post mortem began to clear up the mystery, not least because it emerged there was a history of heart disease in the Gately family.

‘As soon as I heard he had died, I knew it was a heart problem,’ Stephen’s mother Margaret told family solicitor Gerald Kean. ‘It has lifted a huge burden off our family’s shoulders.’

Kean went on to elaborate: ‘Margaret felt all along Stephen died from a heart-related problem. There is a heart condition on his dad Martin’s side of the family. The whole family are now going to get themselves checked out after this in case they have the same problem Stephen’s had. He would have no idea he had this condition.’

One particularly sad aspect of the whole affair was that Stephen appeared to be so happy and settled shortly before he died. Indeed, he and Andrew were even thinking of starting a family of their own.

‘I think I won’t be truly complete until I have children,’ he revealed in an interview shortly before he died. ‘That would be my biggest dream. I’d truly love to be a dad. Andrew and I have talked about it and how it would really fulfil us. It’s definitely something I want in the future. I’ve seen the joy it has brought my Boyzone band mates and how much happiness their children bring them. I pray all the time. I have little conversations with God as I’m walking around in everyday life. There’s definitely a bigger picture for us all.’

And the relationship with Andrew was happy and settled, too. ‘We are just a regular couple and we love nothing more than sitting in front of the TV with a bottle of wine and a takeaway, and watching The X Factor,’ he said. ‘I live for being on the stage. Being back with the lads from the band is just a dream come true. They are my brothers.’

The other members of Boyzone had by then left Majorca, but they returned to the island on 16 October once more to escort the body of their former band mate home. Stephen’s funeral was to be held in the St Laurence O’Toole Church in Dublin, close to where he grew up.

It was at this point, however, just before the funeral was due to take place, that a massive furore erupted, which threatened to overshadow the whole sad affair. Writing in the Daily Mail, the columnist Jan Moir produced a piece with the headline THERE WAS NOTHING ‘NATURAL’ ABOUT STEPHEN GATELY’S death. She went on to write that the circumstances surrounding his demise were ‘more than a little sleazy’ and that, ‘under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see’. Moir also compared his death to the recent suicide of Kevin McGee, the former civil partner of Little Britain star Matt Lucas.

The uproar was immediate. Moir was accused of homophobia, which she vigorously denied, while complaints began flooding in to the Press Complaints Commission. The article had also appeared online: Marks & Spencer promptly demanded that an adjacent advertisement for the store be removed from the site.

Moir herself was called upon to explain her words: ‘When I wrote that “He would want to set an example to any impressionable young men who may want to emulate what they might see as his glamorous routine,” I was referring to the drugs and the casual invitation extended to a stranger,’ she said. ‘Not to the fact of his homosexuality. In writing that “It strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships,” I was suggesting that civil partnerships – the introduction of which I am on the record as supporting – have proved to be just as problematic as marriages.’

But the uproar was on such a huge scale that it surprised some people. Almost immediately, six separate Facebook groups appeared, demanding the Mail retract the article and get rid of Moir; the newspaper, meanwhile, changed the online headline to read: A STRANGE, LONELY AND TROUBLING DEATH. The Twitter community went into overdrive, in some cases actually posting Moir’s address, while prominent Tweeters, including Stephen Fry and illusionist Derren Brown, expressed their disgust. Even Bertie Ahern felt prompted to have his say: ‘You could see it last Sunday and Monday when I was in London and some of the papers were waiting to write some sensationalist piece about him. The guy was a good guy, who died of natural causes. I can never understand why people don’t just leave things simple.’

With such a row going on in the background, culminating in 23,000 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission, it might have been easy to forget that a funeral was about to take place, but, on 16 October, the remaining members of Boyzone arrived back in Dublin, accompanying Stephen’s coffin. The lads took his body to the church themselves and kept a vigil the night before he was buried: as a friend said, Stephen did not like to be left alone. They shared fish and chips, and a bottle of wine. ‘We all had great peace of mind until one of us started to snore – he knows who he is,’ said Keith.

But Andrew was finding it harder to cope. The night before the funeral, there was a viewing of Stephen’s body, but, when the casket was opened so everyone who loved him could go in to say a goodbye, he almost collapsed.

‘He looked completely peaceful, asleep and beautiful,’ said a friend. ‘It was hard for all concerned, a heartbreaking moment. But for Andrew, who – remember – found him and tried to save him, it was more than he could stand. His knees just gave way and he collapsed, and the boys literally had to hold him up.’

A red silk handkerchief was placed in Stephen’s pocket – his favourite colour – and, the next day, the boys all wore something red in his honour.

The funeral itself was deeply affecting, with the church decked out with pictures of Stephen throughout the years, while lilies and candles were placed everywhere. Thousands of mourners, celebrities and the local community lined the streets: Louis Walsh, David Furnish, Westlife and Jason Donovan were there, along with Andrew, of course, and Stephen’s family. Messages of condolence were also sent in from Sir Elton John, George Michael, Robbie Williams, Take That, U2, Simon Cowell, the Beckhams and Cheryl Cole.

Ultimately, the service, conducted by Father Declan Blake, was both a sombre affair and a celebration of Stephen’s life. The most poignant moment came when a distraught Ronan paid tribute to his old band mate: ‘Steo loved to laugh and, by God, we did laugh,’ he began. ‘He had the oddest sense of humour on the planet. If he were here right now, he’d say, “Ro, I’m looking for a stained-glass window. If you see one around, let me know.”’

Ronan was clearly very moved: his voice was trembling and his hands were shaking. ‘The world has lost one of its brightest stars,’ he continued. ‘We have lost our brother and I have lost my wingman. He will live on in our songs and, whenever the four of us are together, he is alive. We will carry on, but it will never be the same without him. A beautiful man, who is now the perfect angel – forever young, but never forgotten. A brother and a son, a husband and a hero – I’m going to miss you, brother, love you, always will, but we know you’ve found peace, perfect peace.’

The band took it in turns to share their memories of Stephen, or Steo, as they called him. He was a ‘giant of a man’, said Keith Duffy, adding that Stephen always worried at auditions that he was too short. ‘We never knew how tall Stephen actually was and I don’t think he knew, either.’

Ronan, who also sang ‘In This Life’ and ‘Happiness’, revealed how Stephen had given his band mates women’s names: ‘Keith was Kitty, Shane was Shanice, Mikey was Mikeala and I was Rosaline,’ he said. ‘Of course, he was Stephanie.’

Keith and Mikey both said how brave Stephen had been to come out as gay. ‘After four years and tremendous courage, Stephen became a pioneer in showing young people it was OK to stand up to who you were and what you believe in,’ said Keith. ‘So many owed him so much for what he did.’

Mikey mentioned Andrew ‘who helped Steo blossom into the man he always believed he could be’.

Shane Lynch was much too overcome to speak, but embraced the others to give them his support.

Louis Walsh was present, but also far too upset to speak. Instead, he released a statement: ‘We have to celebrate his life. He would absolutely love what was happening here today. I keep expecting him to just turn up with a big grin on his face and deliver a cheeky wisecrack. I know Stephen wouldn’t want us to mourn for him, but it is going to take all of us some time to get over the shock of losing someone we all loved so much.’

David Furnish, who, along with his partner Elton John, was also very moved, told how Elton had been left ‘completely bereft’ by Stephen’s death, adding, ‘He was like a ray of sunshine – there was not a bad bone in his body. He was one of the kindest and most uncomplicated people.’

Afterwards, the Irish cabaret singer Tony Kenny sang ‘Alleluiah’ and Mikey read a Prayer of the Faithful.

When the service was over, Stephen’s coffin, a pine casket decorated with a gold crucifix, was carried out to a hearse: it was adorned with the words ‘Our Brother, Our Son’ and transported to Glasnevin Crematorium.

Stephen was dressed in a typical Boyzone sharp suit and his trademark red trainers – together, Andrew and Margaret had chosen what he should wear.

Afterwards, Margaret described how she felt about her child: ‘He was a wonderful son – nobody can understand how proud I am of him. Today was a testament to Stephen that he’d made an impression on the world and won’t be forgotten. He would have been deeply proud of the turn-out on the streets where he grew up. It was a rough area, but he never fell into a bad crowd. I hope I brought him up properly and people can realise how amazing he actually was.’

And as for Stephen being gay – ‘It wasn’t a big deal,’ she said. ‘I knew he was gay and it wasn’t a problem. The Lord invites everyone into his group and we were all fully behind him. I loved him no matter what.’

Contrary to some speculation, in Stephen’s mother’s eyes, Andrew was a member of the Gately family and so he would remain. ‘I’m going to love Andrew and be there for him,’ Margaret declared. ‘He’s one of the family – Stephen loved him with all his heart and he made my son happy. I asked Stephen when they got together if it was love and he said it was more than anything he’d ever found.’