It was the most moving and emotional of farewells.
As Stephen Gately lay in an open coffin the night before his funeral following his tragic and untimely death in 2009, he was surrounded by his Boyzone bandmates.
The four – Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham and Ronan Keating – had always described themselves as Stephen’s “brothers” and, in honor of their beloved Stephen, did not leave his side throughout the night at the San Laurence O’ Toole Roman Catholic Church, Dublin.
Poignantly, as they sat by his coffin, they enjoyed one of their favorite meals, fish and chips, together.
At the time, the band, particularly Ronan, were keen for this tribute to be shared with journalists who reported on the funeral, including myself.
As I stood behind a security barrier on Dublin’s tough Sheriff Street, where Stephen had grown up, the band’s publicists regularly updated me with the tributes Ronan and his bandmates were making for Stephen, who had died suddenly in his house in Mallorca three weeks before. He was only 33 years old.
Members of Boyzone during the 1990s, from LR: Keith Duffy, Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately

Stephen performs in 2009 shortly before his death
However, the reality behind this touching scene was quite different.
The fact is that there had been years of vicious enmity within the band, sparked by what I was told were Ronan’s “ideas of grandeur”.
They had initially split up in 1999, apparently down to the clean-cut leader wanting to forge a solo career, away from the others who he felt were holding him back.
In fact, Ronan was dead set on following in the footsteps of his hero, Bono, believing he had a chance to achieve not only the U2 frontman’s fortune, but musical credibility as well.
“Ronan was very ambitious,” said a former colleague in the group. ‘He thought he was the standout and that he was going to have successes that the others weren’t.
‘He was desperate to be Bono, in fact he once asked to be their support act on U2’s US tour, so much was his determination to crack the states.
‘It didn’t happen. You can imagine how gutted Ronan was. He made it very, very angry. The others found it all quite amusing, but the truth of the matter is that he abandoned them because he was better than them.’
The band’s manager, Louis Walsh, later an X Factor judge, jumped at the opportunity to manage newly reclusive artist Ronan, hoping to continue the success of Boyzone, who had been catapulted to fame in 1994 with their hit Love Me for a reason.

Band members make a statement in 2009 after Stephen’s death

Former band manager Louis Walsh at Stephen’s funeral

Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch carry Stephen’s coffin at the funeral
But it was not to be, and the bandmates never recovered from the emotional impact of their bitter breakup, despite their show of togetherness after Stephen’s death.
Today, emotions run just as high, they tell me: ‘The scars are still there, the pain was very deep. They are still all so crossed about everything.
“All these years and there’s a lot of bad blood…they’ve moved on, but forgiveness has been nearly impossible.”
Next Sunday, February 2, a new three-part series, commemorating 30 years since Boyzone formed, will document the continued bitterness of these difficult days.
Screened on Sky documentaries, it promises to give fans a glimpse into the band’s ‘conflict and rivalry, betrayal and tragedy’, and that ’30 years on, the four remaining members – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael ‘Mikey’ Graham, as well as his estranged manager, Louis Walsh – (Will) revealed the truth of what really happened…and the enormous toll it had on a boy band had on each of them.’
I have been told that the documentary has ‘dark’ moments. The trailer shows the group admitting that they went through some ‘cruel’ times under Louis’ leadership.
In fact, the trailer shows Louis making the scathing comment: ‘I prefer ordinary people, because they work harder.’ And they do whatever you want at first.
Meanwhile, Ronan is shown reflecting on his early days, commenting: ‘We were a bunch of kids together. We weren’t perfect, we weren’t polished.

A photo from Sky’s upcoming documentary about the band

Another Sky preview shows a tribute to Stephen

Louis Walsh participates in the documentary, but is still not on good terms with most of the former band members.
However, this youthful naivety had been well and truly worn out by the time the band broke up. Sources who worked with them at the time say that Stephen especially felt he was at the end of Ronan’s temper, as he was also trying to make himself a solo star.
Stephen seemed to be making quite the fist: adored by his fans, who loved his modesty and brash nature, he had gained an army of support after coming out as gay in 1999.
Those close to Stephen say Ronan saw him as a rival and did little to support his budding solo career.
“Stephen thought Ronan would be a little more behind him,” says a friend. ‘But he couldn’t bring himself, or at least Stephen didn’t think he would.
‘Stephen was confused. He was a kind soul who wasn’t as ambitious as Ronan. It hurt him, he had to do some soul searching and he found out that Ronan wasn’t the person he thought.
‘Once he accepted that, he was able to move on, but it devastated him.
Stephen’s friends were furious. To this day they have not forgiven Ronan.
‘Things became very, very vicious between some of the gang. For the first few years they were so close, their families were close, and then Ronan was cut off.

The band in 2008 at the Dylan Hotel in Dublin, the year before their reunion tour and Stephen’s death

They have some fun while filming for the sky documentary.

Keith, Ronan and Shane at a charity concert last year in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation and Cancer Research UK
‘It was devastating for them. Keith was furious to the point that it took him years and years to get over everything, although it is unclear if he ever forgave (Ronan) for the fall.
Stephen was later found dead at his home in Port d’Andratx, Mallorca, later determined to have been caused by pulmonary edema resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition.
He had spent the night with his partner Andrew Cowles at the Black Cat Club in Mallorca’s capital, Palma, before returning home with a man they had met that night, Bulgarian Georgi Dochev. (Dochev stayed in the spare room).
His death was deeply upsetting to the four surviving members of Boyzone, so much so that the documentary’s creators, Curious Films, were unsure whether they would have Mikey participate. “He’s a deep person,” a band source said. ‘I wasn’t sure about doing it. He was angry and really didn’t like Ronan for a while.
In fact, although things were particularly vicious between Keith and Shane and Ronan, it seems to be Mikey, who Ronan didn’t like the most by the time they broke up.
‘Mikey was extremely depressed and Stephen would get very angry about everything. There were standing lines, then you’d have Louis tell everyone about it and stir things up. He enjoyed the headlines, he thought they translated into record sales (for Ronan) in that old school.
Despite this bitterness and anger, at the end of the show viewers will see a recently filmed scene featuring Ronan, Keith, Shane and Mikey hugging over a pint in an apparent move to show unity.
However, one person who remains very absent from this new meeting is Louis.
In fact, only Stephen remained friendly with him. The other four still, they told me, despise him.
Initially, he and Ronan were close, and Louis saw managing him after the band’s breakup as his next big opportunity. “Ronan was his ticket and he got it when you say nothing at all, which went global after it was used in the movie Notting Hill.”
But soon after, in 2003, Ronan fired Louis and opened his world tour in Australia without telling him.
Unsurprisingly, this led to Louis meeting about his fall with anyone who would listen. The two men, I understand, have barely spoken since.
‘Louis went onto the warpath against Ronan. Things got nuclear,’ a band source said. ‘He called his journalist friends and threw him right under the bus. At that time there was a view among the rest of the band that (Ronan and Louis) were as bad as each other.
Louis’ worst bitchy side came out. I would call Ronan a manufactured pop star who was obsessed with fame and believed his own hype. He would say he was little more than a karaoke artist. Louis went on the attack and Ronan was furious.
On the show, Louis is forced to face devastating claims that he betrayed Mikey, Keith and Shane after the band split up.
‘Louis is surprised by everything. The gang hits him. Louis was ruthless back then, and to some extent still is, so it’s a case of the gloves coming off,’ a source tells me.
Before Stephen died, there was a brief songwriting between Ronan and his former bandmates and in 2009, a few months before his passing, they teamed up for a reunion tour, on the condition that Louis was not allowed anywhere near him.
In fact, since their schism, the only time Louis and Ronan have been in the same room since was at Stephen’s funeral.
For the upcoming documentary, the band and their former manager did not clash, something band sources say would have caused ‘an almighty row.’
“But after the show, things are likely to get a lot worse,” the source says. “Louis is going to be absolutely furious when he sees the final programme.”
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