Interview from Smash Hits Sep 1999

It's a bright, sunny day in London and Stephen Gately's skin is glowing. Swamped in baggy black Gucci trousers, designer T-shirt and chunky boots, Stephen's face breaks into his huge trademark smile as he strides into the studio. The smile gets wider still when Stephen spots the huge box of letters from Smash Hits readers. He dives in and starts reading them, looking more and more pleased with each envelope he rips open.

Watching Stephen happily read your letters of support it's easy to forget the past few months have been, in his own words, "a very emotional time." After discovering that someone was trying to sell a story about his sexuality, Stephen took the huge step of telling the world he was gay. To this day Stephen doesn't know who had the story to tell, and he doesn't want to know. But there was one thing Stephen did know, if people were going to find out, he wanted to be the one to tell them, and so he agreed to an interview with The Sun newspaper...

A DAY IN THE SUN
You've done the interview. How did you feel the night before The Sun story came out?
(He takes a deep breath.) Eloy (Stephen's boyfriend) and I were in Milan, and obviously I knew that the story would be out the next day, but we didn't know how big a thing it was going to be. So we were watching Sky News and it said, "Now here are tomorrow's papers", and it was on the front pages of four newspapers! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I laughed. I said to Eloy, (raises his hands helplessly) "Well, this is it. Let's hope people's reactions are good". Thankfully all the papers were very supportive.

How did it feel to wake up knowing that the whole world knew?
It felt very.., weird. Terrifying, I suppose. I was in Amsterdam (where Eloy lives) the actual day the story broke, and I got tons of calls from people saying, "Fair play to ya, congratulations". Victoria from the Spice Girls called a press agency to say, "Tell Stephen not to worry, everything will be fine". I got a message from The Backstreet Boys, (his eyes widen) Sinead O'Connor left a message saying she thought it was great. Not one person let me down. I got flowers from Elton John and his boyfriend David, a phone call from George Michael. Graham Norton sent me a lovely letter, Lily Savage called, and Boy George said some really nice things. It made me feel really supported. And the fans have been just amazing...

In what way?
(Looking over at the letters) I keep getting big packets of letters from them, and I'm trying to read all of them, or at least most of them. I'm reading them whenever I can and going around smiling to myself because they've been so incredible. So uplifting. They're from fans.. parents of fans, young kids.., you name it. I couldn't have asked for a better response.

Were you scared when it was all happening?
(Wrinkles his brow and nods.) I was soooo scared. It's a big, big thing. My family and my close friends knew, but it was a shock for the fans. I'm so glad they heard it from me and not someone else, I had to be upfront. It was a very emotional time, lots of ups and downs. I'd laugh, then I would cry, and I'd constantly question what was happening. But Eloy and I decided we had to be really, really strong and be there for each other.

And were you?
Totally. It was a big thing for Eloy as well, especially in places like Germany where his band (Caught In The Act) is big. We decided it was better to come out at the same time, then for the next few days we were very down 'cos we were scared how everyone would react. But we said wed get through it, end we have.

What did the rest of Boyzone think when they found out the story was breaking?
I told them I was gay five yen ago and they said, "So what?" And they were the same about this. They've been absolutely wonderful. Wonderful!

Stephen knew that he was gay from his early teens. He describes it as an incredibly hard time, and realises there are a lot of other teenagers going through similar things. He looks heartbroken as he reads a letter from a girl whose friend committed suicide because he was gay and couldn't stand the bullying he endured. It's shocking," he says, looking away. "Terrible." With this kind of prejudice it's no wonder Stephen, or anybody, takes their time before 'coming out'

A LIFE OF FEAR
What stopped you from admitting you were, gay before now?
(Thinks.) I was at an age where I wanted to be successful, end unfortunately, if people know you're gay they think twice about you. I was determined to be famous and I didn't want people judging me. Plus, I was still finding out who I was, I genuinely, don't think I could've handled this before.

Was The Sun story inevitable?
I think the newspaper articles happened at a time when something was going to happen anyway. The rest of Boyzone were getting married and having kids and I was still single. It was lonely, end I was thinking, "What am I going to do? People are going to talk". It was building up and I felt it was going to break at anytime.

Did you always fear someone else would 'out' you?
Yep. Every day. Some nights I'd go to bed and (takes a deep breath) I'd be nervous about the next day, about 'tat the papers would say. That's no way to live.I read a lot of spiritual books which made me stronger. I pray to God, end get on with things. I'm the exact same person I always was. My personality hasn't changed, or way look, I just feel good in myself. (Smiles.) I don't have to worry anymore. You can't imagine how relieved I feel not having it all hanging over my head.

But if there hadn't been the threat of exposure would you have, waited to tee everyone?
(Pauses.) I don't know. I probably would have waited until the very last minute I could. But looking at things now I wouldn't change a thing.

Smiling once again, it appears Stephen's not just happy, but happier than ever. Could it be love? Just as he's about to reply to our probing quotation, Stephens 'saved by the bell.' Someone is buzzing his mini-mobile end the huge grin across Stephen's face, tells us who it is... Eloy. "Yep, I'm doing the interview," he tells his concerned boyfriend, "don't worry, it's going really well." The couple go onto discuss how their dog's been swimming again, and Steve signs off by promising to take a pic of the shoot home for Eloy to see. When the conversation's over, Steve laughs when Smash Hits points out the ear-to-ear grin he had on his face the whole, time. "Did I?" he says coyly, blushing slightly. Next he takes out a photo of his boyfriend to show us and looks on proudly as Smash Hits peruses Eloy's perfect features. Our question is answered Stephen's in love.

A BOY IN LOVE
Where did you meet Eloy?
At a party, but we'd met in the business before, travelling, y'know - we'd seen each other around! We've known each other for a long time, and we've been together for a year now.

You seem very settled...
I am. We've just bought a dog. He's a black and white shih-tzu called Joey. We took him for a walk yesterday and we were just sitting down together chatting, getting away from it all. It's wonderful.

It must seem funny looking back at your old 'lurve' interviews now...
It is because... (laughs) I always dreaded interviews because I knew that people would say. "So Stephen, why aren't you going out with a girl?".

But you never said you hadn't met the right girl, you always said the right person.
Yes, I didn't want to lie, so I chose my words carefully!

Has 'coming out' affected your relationship with Eloy?
Yeah. I can walk down the street with him now. I don't have to be careful about everything. (Rolls his eyes.) What a relief!

Interview over, Stephen plays us his upcoming solo single, the classic Bright Eyes (As you probably know it's not his single after all... ~Annika) taken from the new Watership Down cartoon in which Steve will voice one of the bunnies. Everyone in the studio is stunned when a mature, rich voice blasts out of the stereo: "I always sing the high keys in Boyzone" explains Stephen, but with this I've been able to try out different vocal styles, which is really exciting." The single sounds great, but after all he's been trough Stephen wasn't really worried about the small matter of his solo career... was he? "Oh yeah. I'm very nervous," he blushes. "I don't know what to expect from Bright Eyes. If it just gets into the charts I'll be happy!' He pauses. "If people knock me, they knock me, at least I know that I've tried." So you do feel stronger now? "I know one thing, I'm more ready for all this," he says, throwing his hands out wide, 'than I ever was." And with that final flourish. Stephen collects his post says his goodbyes, and walks out the door. Head held high.

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