The Sun- Wednesday 16th June 1999

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: BOYZONE RALLY ROUND BRAVE STAR

RONAN: IT'S TAKEN REAL COURAGE FOR MY DEAREST PAL STEPHEN TO COME OUT

By RAV SINGH and SAM CARLISLE

STEPHEN GATELY'S brave decision to tell the world he is gay has the full support of his Boyzone bandmates.

In a moving testimony to the group's friendship they have added their weight to his statement.

RONAN KEATING, 22, says: "Stephen is one of my dearest friends in the world. Talking about this takes courage and I'll always love him for that.

"He and Eloy make each other really happy and nothing should stand in the way of happiness."

SHANE LYNCH, 22, adds: "I hope Stephen and Eloy are as happy as me and my wife Easther. Everybody needs love in their lives."

KEITH DUFFY, 24, says: "Everybody deserves happiness in life and if the fans really love Stephen, they will love and support him. I love him like a brother."

And MIKEY GRAHAM, 26, adds: "All the fans should support Stephen. After all, he has given them music and brought them happiness for the last six years. We're coming to the Millennium and it just doesn't matter any more. I'm just glad he's happy. Live and let live."

When Boyzone formed, Stephen stood out as the elfin-faced boy next door.

He was born on St. Patrick's Day, 1976, in the tough Sheriff Street area of Dublin, and brought up by his Catholic parents Martin, a carpenter, and Margaret, a housewife. Their house backed on to The Point, Dublin's equivalent of Wembley Arena. Stephen, whose family could not afford to send him to concerts, would spend hours listening to the bands and dreamed of the day he would perform there.

He has fulfilled his dream by playing 28 sell-out shows there with Boyzone.

Stephen has said: "One day we were nobodies just messing about and walking down the street with nobody noticing us. The next thing, everybody in the world was going totally mad around us.

"We never in the world thought something like this would happen to us. It's a complete dream come true."

Perfect

Last October Stephen moved into the first place of his own, a �650, 000 converted millhouse outside Dublin.

Despite his wealth- all the boys are millionaires- his only indulgence is his collection of original Disney drawings.

He has said: "My perfect night is a meal with friends.

"I've got a hammock slung between trees by the river that runs past my house. That's where I'm happiest, reading a book and listening to the water.

"If my career ends tomorrow I know I can still do that."

In just six years Boyzone have become the biggest success story of the late 1990's.

When they were formed, critics dubbed them take That wannabes. But the five lads from Dublin proved the music world wrong. They are now Britain's most successful boy band- even outselling Oasis.

They were put together by pop svengali Louis Walsh in September 1993. With dreams of creating the first Irish boy band, Louis placed an ad in the local paper and 500 young hopefuls turned up to the Ormond Multi-Media Centre, Dublin.

Five young men stood out.

Ronan was the outgoing blond pin up, who would become the public frontman for the band.

Shane was the tough guy. Pierced, and with a shaved eyebrow, he gave the group a tough, streetwise edge.

Keith was the good-time boy who lived life to the full.

Mikey was the joker of the group.

And Stephen was the shy guy, always peering out from beneath his dark fringe.

Now, with hard work and dedication, the band have become stars on the world stage and helped manager Louis achieve his dream.

Their first single, a cover of the Detroit Spinners' hit Working My Way Back To You went to No3 in the Irish charts. The follow up Love Me For A Reason went to No1 in Ireland and No2 in the UK in December 1994.

Boyzone's first UK No1 was the ballad Words in October 1996.

After that they secured the top spot regularly. Last month they kept Geri Halliwell off the top of the charts with You Needed Me.

Their multi-million selling albums include A Different Beat, Where We Belong and the current Greatest Hits release, By Request.