Thanks to Sham for typing this out!

" I always felt like I had to save up as much money as possible, before my secret was out. "

Stephen Gately from Boyzone is celebrating his 1st anniversary of

his coming out last year - and he feels better than ever. We see a

new happy Stephen.

" It just feels so nice, (laughs) just that I can go on stage without

one of the lads pushing me out of the way, ha ha. No, I'm just

joking. I still talk to the other lads all the time. "

So, there's no split then?

" That's just something that the press make up every year. We're only

taking a long break from Boyzone. Next year we're back with a tour

and album. "

Isn't it lonely being by yourself?

" Not at all, I have Eloy y'know, who's with me the most of the time

(smiles happily). "

So is there going to be a duet together?

" We'll write something together for his album, but I don't know if

there'll be a duet. It wouldn't be a ballad, 'cos that would be a bit

slushy... I'd rather do something with more attitude. But Eloy is

much more poppier than what I am. "

Your album actually does sound a bit like ballady-Boyzoney still...

" The fans love the Boyzone ballads. But I do have mid-tempo and up-

tempo songs as well on my album. I love different kinds of music. "

What other things are going on in your life?

" I have two dogs now, Joey and Woody, a Shih-Tzu and a American

Cocker Spaniel. I love to take long walks with them. Even if the

weather's bad. "

Are they allowed to sleep in your bed?

" Oh no, ha ha! The kitchen is their sleep place. But they wake me up

every morning. If I don't get up they'll, erm, do their business on

the kitchen floor. We also have two goldfishes, one is named after

Eloy's sister, the other after my sister. We thought it was fun.

I'm a huge pet friend. "

Would you ever come out if you weren't forced?

" No, then I would still keep it a secret. It was a hard time for me,

especially in the teens. Then, when we did our interviews, I was

always being asked these horrible questions about girlfriends. I

really felt bad. I always felt like I had to save up as much money as

possible, before my secret was out. It might sound silly, but that's

how I felt. I wanted security to fall back on. I wasn't sure which

way it was gonna go. Now I know different. The support has been huge,

and it's made me feel good. Now I feel better than ever before. "