Stephen Gately is nice. There's no other word to describe him. Everyone around him is nice. Even the pit-bull terrier, running around the photographic studio where we meet, is nice. To get near Stephen is to enter another world. He shot to fame with Boyzone, five nice lads from Dublin whose first four albums all shot in at number one, the first band to do so since those other nice lads, the Beatles. A film of the 'fab five' is even being written. But, after seven years together, they wanted a break and decided to spend 2000 working on solo projects. One of them presented a children's TV show. One went to drive rally cars. But for Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately - arguably the two most squeaky--clean band members - Boyzone's temporary separation has let them try their hand at pop music solo. I exchange a firm handshake with Gately as I enter a large room in north London and wait patiently for a photo shoot to end. The shoot is fascinating. As the photographer dances around him, you can't help noticing Gately knows exactly what he s doing. With admirable poise and patience, he makes the camera his own, smiling into the lens in a variety of expressions. The photographer never had it so easy. When the shoot ends, Gately strolls over for the interview. He looks right at me when he talks and seems genuinely interested in every question. He is the consummate professional without ever being impersonal. Make no mistake, Gately is damn good at what he does. From his perfect complexion to his new beige shoes. Only a slightly damp mark under the arms of his jumper and the occasional belch as he swigs cola, ripple the image of perfection.

Anyone under 18 could answer my first question, but I thought we'd start with an easy one: Why does Gately think Boyzone have been so phenomenally successful?

"I think it's the normality of us. With us what you see is what you get. There aren't any graces about us, we're just five normal guys. Some of us have kids. Some of us are married, one of us is gay. People see realism there.”

Ah yes, the gay issue. A reporter in the Far East recently arranged to interview Gately, only to be told by an over-eager record company executive that he could talk about anything except the gay issue. The reporter was, not surprisingly, upset. After all, Gately's coming out in June 1999 was the biggest thing to happen in the music industry in years. It was groundbreaking in the way it had almost no repercussions for the band and, for non-Boyzone fanatics, it's the most interesting thing about him. Thankfully, I have been given no such restrictions but it doesn't make talking about someone else's sexuality any easier. We briefly discuss his new single and the album he's working on ("I love pop music, but wanted to try something more up-tempo than just ballads"), before we touch on his personal life. I mention his relationship with Eloy de Jong, a Dutch singer in a boy-band of his own. Gately doesn't seem surprised but is none too impressed either.

"Look, I've done the whole thing about who I'm with and so everybody knows. There's no point in making an issue about my sexual preference, unless you do for the other lads in Boyzone as well. If you're not doing it with them, you're not doing it with me.”
I don't feel good about asking but natural curiosity makes me pursue the issue a little further. Gately almost – but not quite – succeeds in stifling his frustration. However, the smile hardens a little. I ask if he would mind answering a couple of more general questions on the subject.
"Well, now that depends. If I don't like them, I'll tell you to fuck off.”
He says it very softly, never breaking the smile. I continue digging regardless but exchange my spade for a teaspoon. When did he first know he was in love with Eloy who he has lived in Amsterdam with for 18 months.
"Six years ago but we never got together until two years ago. I don't know if we'll get married," he continues. "I wouldn't say 'no', I wouldn't say 'yes'. We haven't actually sat down and had a good chat about it. There have been rumours in the press about that, and about kids, but if it happens, it happens. It's my choice, and when I do it I'll let you know.”
So, does he feel that a star's sexuality now has no bearing on his or her career?
"I dunno. It was fantastic how the response was. But so what, you know? People can say whatever they want. As long as I'm happy in my life, that's the thing. It's nobody's business, and nobody had to know. Somebody was going to sell the story and I think that to hurt another person and to try and ruin their life is the lowest way to make money."

Though he's not overly secretive about his private life, he's not surprisingly happier to talk about less personal issues.
"I like living in Holland because it's really laid back. People just say 'hi' and keep on walking. But in Ireland it's different, they grab you and say 'sign this, sign this'. I don't mind doing it but the only place I won't is when I'm in my home. If anyone comes to my house and asks for my autograph, the answer's always 'no'. I don't care who they are, it's my own private space. "I'm a very private person really. I don't go to celebrity bashes, and I don't go clubbing - I hate clubbing. I'd rather go to a bar or restaurant where I can sit down and chat with my mates.

In June, Gately released his first solo single, A New Beginning/Bright Eyes, a double-A side featuring a cover version of Art Garfunkel's gooey hit. It went straight in at Number Three, while his debut solo album made Number Nine. Still if he wasn't in Boyzone, Gately harbours another ambition: to be in the movies.

"I'd love to play a baddie in a film. Actually, what I'm aiming for is a cameo in the new Harry Potter film. The books are fantastic. And Andrew Lloyd-Webber offered me the lead role in his new musical. I was tempted but at the same time I was too involved in my album. But he obviously thinks I'm capable of doing it - he doesn't really pick people unless he believes in them.” With no pressure to stick to the money-spinning formula that is boy-band pop (Gately acknowledges he's "financially secure, that's for sure"), he can afford to take a few risks. With William from the record company making discreet signals that our time is running out, I wonder where Gately is rushing off to now? "We've got a few more photo shoots, then tonight I'm going back to Amsterdam. I’m going to sit down, open a bottle of wine and watch four episodes of Friends. That's going to be nice.” With Gately, it could hardly be anything else.

INSIDE STORY ...

- Awards ...
All Ireland Disco Dancing
Champion aged 16, Irish
Personality of the Year and
Smash Hits Hero of the Year
(both 1999)

- First found fame ...
Apart from 10 seconds in The Commitments,
fame hit when Boyzone released their first
single Love Me For a Reason in 1994.
It reached Number Two in the UK charts

- Linked to ...
Before his homosexuality was made
public, Gately was romantically linked
to Baby Spice and Mandy Smith. He is
now happily settled with Dutch boyfriend
Eloy.

- Famous family ...
Fourth out of five children, Gately was
brought up in Dublin. "I come from a
poor family, so I know what its like to
have none of this"

- Once said ...
“Everyone was great about me coming out.
Elton John sent flowers, George Michael rang,
even Billy Connolly said ‘Who gives a shit?’
There’s been no homophobia at all, except the
odd slagging in the street.”

“One girl got my name tattooed on her arm,
I was like, ‘What are you going, girl? That’s
going to be there forever’.”

Click HERE to see the pictures of the interview

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