Stephen Gately 1976 - 2009

Former Boyzone member Stephen Gately died on Sunday morning at the age of thirty-three.

Gately was the first boy band member to publicly announce he was gay, provoked by a former member of Boyzone's security selling a story to The Sun. Gately had good reason for keeping his sexuality under wraps: Louis Walsh later admitted it would have been difficult to have had an openly gay man in Boyzone, stating "It wasn't cool then to have a gay guy in the band".

Although Gately's reasons for publicly acknowledging his sexuality were less than altruistic, it cannot be denied that a young high-profile entertainer in a market aimed predominantly at young girls announcing his homosexuality paved the way for later performers ranging from fellow boy-banders Mark from Westlife and Duncan from Blue, to Will Young. Will Young advanced this by discussing his homosexuality whilst on the cusp of success, rather than in his decline.

Notably Gately not only announced his homosexuality but was willing to express it within his work, something Will Young has been reticient to do, by performing with a man in the Boyzone video for "Better"

Mika has yet to get around to either of those options.