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“Stephen is very much with us” Boyzone on Gately being part of Farewell tour

"It's magical the timing was just perfect..."

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Boyzone

The four Boyzone members have revealed that they still feel as though Stephen Gately is present as they work together, likely, for the last time.

The group announced this month that they would be returning for one last hurrah in a Farewell and Goodbye tour and album, but spoke about how Stephen is still with them.

“We’ve made a decision as a band to put our heart and soul into this album, say farewell to it on a tour and see where the roads take us from there,” Ronan Keating said.

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Boyzone with Stephen, centre.

 

Stephen Gately tragically passed away in 2009 from a previously undiagnosed heart condition, and though he’s been gone nearly ten years, the boys say they still feel his presence.

“When the four of us are together we feel Stephen is very much with us. He was a colourful character and he’s left us with plenty of stories that we reminisce and talk about,” Keith Duffy

Shane Lynch echoed these sentiments, adding: “Steo is always very alive in Boyzone for us and it’s one of the things that bring us back together, so to actually have 25 years and mark that occasion and sign off but he is also part of that yet again, it’s magical the timing was just perfect.”

Boyzone pictured in 2015
Boyzone pictured in 2015

On the album, the four will pay tribute to their friend with a song called I Can Dream which was originally recorded by Stephen back in 2001.

“It’s quite a cool story,” Ronan Keating explained.

“The guy who wrote the song with Steo was moving out of his house and clearing out his garage and he found a tape with Stephen Gately written on it and he thought ‘I heard the boys are making a record, maybe I should send it into the label’ he sent it in and they sent it to us and it was unbelievable.

“The first time we were standing in the studio and Stephen’s voice comes through and it just sends goosebumps through my body.”

Check out the full interview below:

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