Boy Gone

Photo from Blackpool Gay Icons

Stephen Gately, the openly gay member of Irish boy band Boyzone, is dead.

The BBC reports:

Boyzone singer Stephen Gately has been found dead at the age of 33. He died on Saturday while on holiday in Majorca.

Spanish police said there were no signs of suspicious circumstances but that the cause of death was not yet known.
Gately was on holiday with his long-term partner Andy Cowles. A statement from the singer's bandmates said they were "devastated" at the news.
They are expected to travel to Majorca. The Irish band had six UK number one hits in the 1990s and reformed in 2007.

It takes a lot of courage for someone in the public spotlight to come out and live his life openly as a gay man. Stephen Gately was one such soul, and in his wake, other high-profile pop personalities such as N'Sync's Lance Bass and American Idol's Adam "Glamberace" Lambert have proudly worn their true colors. And while I was never a Boyzone fan, Gately seemed to be a decent human being who lived quietly with his partner and followed the beat of his own drum - not tabloid fodder like fellow singers George Michael and Boy George, who, despite their advantages in life, can't seem to break out of their spirals of self-destruction.

John Donne famously wrote: "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind."

I wanted to post my favorite Boyzone song "No Matter What" - which has always struck me as a gay love song, in the best way possible - but Universal Music has disabled embedding for that video. You can watch it here , and I've posted the lyrics below as an epitaph for Gately.

Godspeed.

No Matter What - Boyzone
Andrew Lloyd Webber (music)/Jim Steinman(lyrics)

No matter what they tell us
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach us
What we believe is true

No matter what they call us
However they attack
No matter where they take us
We'll find our own way back

I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not
I know I'll love forever
I know, no matter what

If only tears were laughter
If only night was day
If only prayers were answered
Then we would hear God say

No matter what they tell you
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach you
What you believe is true

And I will keep you safe and strong
And sheltered from the storm
No matter where it's barren
A dream is being born

No matter who they follow
No matter where they lead
No matter how they judge us
I'll be everyone you need

No matter if the sun don't shine
Or if the skies are blue
No matter what the end is
My life began with you

I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not
I know, I know
I know this love's forever

That's all that matters now
No matter what