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Keith Duffy has opened up about his experience with grief after the death of his Boyzone bandmate, Stephen Gately.
Stephen tragically passed away very suddenly in Spain in 2009, and his untimely passing affected the entire nation, with thousands taking to the streets to pay their respects to the singer.
Sharing the moment he discovered Stephen had died, Keith revealed fellow Boyzone star Ronan Keating was the one to deliver the news via phonecall.
“Ronan just said, ‘Steve’s dead. Buster, Steve’s dead’. I just remember not understanding what he was saying to me,” Keith told the The Sunday Independent.
After learning of Stephen’s tragic passing, Keith joined Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch, as they “just talked, cried, talked, drank, calmed ourselves down, drank more, talked and basically organised the plane” to Spain.
Keith also detailed how happy Stephen had been prior to his death, after embracing his sexuality and living a more authentic life.
Saying: “Stephen was tortured before he came out. He hid his sexuality from all of us at the start. He had a very stress-filled life. Tortured, really. The more famous we got, the more tortured he became, and the more Stephen became comfortable with his position, he just flourished.”
“And he became this great, happy, colourful character. When he died, he was only getting going, his talents were only blossoming.”
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Speaking on Boyzone’s struggle with grief after their tragic loss, Keith confessed the band was never the same.
“I suffered a lot with Stephen dying. I went to a dark place. And myself and Shane kind of lost our way a little bit when we went on tour in 2011. It was just too soon from having five on stage for so many years and then four,” he confessed.
Ronan has also shared similar sentiments, telling Newstalk: “We had 25 years great years. For me it finished when Stephen died and that probably was the end of the band as we knew it.”
“We probably should’ve walked away. We thought the right thing was to keep it going in Steo’s memory but it never felt right after that ever again,”
Confessing: “The magic was gone. The spark was gone. I fought for it back, I couldn’t get it so Boyzone ended then.”
