WITH THE SINGLE 'NEW BEGINNING', AND THE ALBUM OF THE SAME NAME, THE BOYZONE STAR VENTURES INTO A NEW BEGINNING AS THE SOLO SINGER:

STEPHEN GATELY

HE WRITES SECRET LOVE SONGS FOR ELOY!

In Boyzone, he was often left in the shadow of Boyzone frontman, Ronan Keating, but on 16th June 1999, Stephen Gately (24) became the most famous member of the band: on this day, the 1.70m high, blue-eyed Irishman outed himself and his gay lover Eloy de Jong (27), and he has been happy ever since. Now, Stephen is starting a solo career: his single 'New Beginning' has just been released, and the album of the same name is released [in Germany] on 17th July. "I have written two songs for Eloy on the album," revealed Stephen, proudly. "They're called 'Where Do We Go' and 'If Only You Were Here'. I wrote them two years after Eloy and I first became friends. At that time, I still wasn't sure of my feelings for him, but I always hoped that we would eventually become a couple. He was always The One for me."

They are both Pisces and are absolutely inseparable. Today, they live together in Holland and wear matching gold diamond rings, with each other's name engraved inside. "We bought the rings in New York, as Christmas presents," revealed Stephen, who recently received a small American Cocker Spaniel called 'Woody' from Eloy for his birthday. Stephen says, "The small dog is 6 months old and is really sweet. I spend a lot of time training him and our 1 year old Shih-Tzu 'Joey'." When Eloy and Stephen spend time at home, they take the dogs for long walks and cycle or go on their boat.

A regular guest at the house of both stars is Eloy's mother Lenie- and not only because she often surprises Stephen and Eloy by doing their washing. "She is a darling!" gushes Stephen. "She gets on great with my sister Michelle (27). They often phone each other. Michelle is five month's pregnant. If her second child is a boy, she will call it 'Leon Eloy Sean'." Stephen's brother's Mark (29, a carpenter), Alan (25, an artist) and Tony (18) have all accepted Eloy and his family whole heartedly. "Tony is doing his exams at the moment," revealed Stephen. "When he has finished, Eloy and I will by him a holiday as a present." Only Eloy's mother Lenie and Stephen's mother Margaret have not yet met each other. "My parent's can't travel because they don't own a car," said Stephen, who has no driving license himself and is fearful about driving a car. "But they will travel from Dublin to Holland soon. After that I will be happy!"