Tomorrow marks 13 years since Boyzone singer Stephen Gately’s sudden death.
He collapsed and died from an undiagnosed heart condition aged just 33. His bandmates were stunned by the death of their friend who was like a brother to them.
And for Keith Duffy the grieving is not over. Tomorrow will be a deeply emotional day as he honours his best friend. Keith, 48, revealed he speaks to Stephen every day and still feels his presence each time he performs on stage.
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But rather than try to block out his death, he is determined to keep his best pal’s memory alive. He has created a shrine to his former bandmate at the home he shares with wife Lisa and daughter Mia, 21.
Coronation Street favourite Keith said: “I have photographs of me and Ste all over my house. He’s a big part of my family still and will always be.
"I can’t actually believe it’s 13 years since Stephen passed. It’s still hard for me to believe he is no longer with us."
He added: "It’s so tragic. He was taken too soon. He left a massive hole in my life."
“Stephen was my brother and my best friend. I talk to him all the time. I still feel his presence. He’s on stage with me every time I go on.”
Gay heartthrob Stephen was on holiday in Majorca with husband Andrew Cowles when he died. A postmortem showed he had a pulmonary oedema – fluid in his lungs – because of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.
Keith and his Boyzone bandmates Ronan Keating, 45, Shane Lynch, 46, and 50-year-old Mikey Graham gave the eulogy at Stephen’s funeral in Dublin. Keith and Ronan were pallbearers as the city gathered to say goodbye to one of its best-loved sons.
Since Stephen’s tragic passing the four normally get together on the anniversary of his death to toast his life. But tomorrow Keith will break with that tradition as he is on tour with ex-Westlife singer Brian McFadden, 42, as the duo Boyzlife.
Keith said: “We will do something special but every show we keep his memory alive. We ask the audience to think of their favourite memory of him and then we sing a song for him. He is always with me.”
Boyzone were launched by Louis Walsh in 1993 and went on to become one of the UK’s biggest pop acts of the decade. They split in 1999 before making a comeback in 2007 – just two-years before Stephen’s death.
They carried on as a four-piece to honour Stephen before eventually calling it a day in 2018. They had six No1 singles and four chart-topping albums. Keith has also had a successful acting career, starring in Coronation Street.
As charming ladies’ man Ciaran McCarthy, he had relationships with Sunita Alahan and Michelle Connor during his stints on the cobbles. Keith was so successful in the role that he won nominations for best soap newcomer and sexiest male.
He has performed with Brian as Boyzlife, on and off, since 2016. The duo are currently in the middle of a UK tour before heading to Australia.
The pair are close but Keith admits he is lonely on the road without Lisa and Mia. Keith, who also has a grown son, Jordan, said: “You know the older I get the more difficult it becomes.
There are lonely times. I don’t particularly like it. I prefer not to be away so much.
“I have a daughter Mia with special needs and although she was quite severely autistic as a kid, she’s a wonderful young lady.
"She’s finished university, she’s started her first big job with a US pharmaceutical company.” Keith said he is incredibly proud and grateful for such a long career.
But he doesn’t know whether he would audition to be in the band if he had his time again. He said: “Fame isn’t all it is cracked up to be. I read an interview recently with Melanie C about how the Spice Girls affected her life and the pitfalls of stardom and fame.
“Had I been told those would I still make the same decision? Well it’s a very complex, difficult question to answer.
“There are so many parts of it you’d say ‘absolutely yes’, but then again, you’d say, ‘I don’t know’. I missed out on a lot of time with my kids.”
But while Keith’s not sure he made the right decision, there’s still a lot of screaming women who are so glad he did choose to become a pop star.
The laughing singer added: “We’ve got a real loyal fan base. They aren’t as crazy as they used to be though. We used to get sexy underwear thrown at us but now it’s gone from G-strings to Bridget Jones-style big knickers being flung at us.”
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