Stephen Gately

Stephen Patrick David Gately (17 March 1976 – 10 October 2009) was an Irish pop singer-songwriter, actor, children's writer and dancer, who you might know best as one of two lead singers from the pop group Boyzone. He performed for millions of fans globally.

Gately was an LGBT author; he made his sexuality known in 1999 and came out which given his celebrity status was met with a wave of publicity.He wed Andrew Cowles, first in a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas in 2003 and more formally in a civil partnership ceremony in London in 2006.

Gately died of a congenital heart defect on 10 October 2009, in a flat that he and Cowles owned in Mallorca, Spain. During the three years prior to his death, Gately had begun writing what turned out to be his first and only work, the children's fantasy novel The Tree of Seasons. In an April 2009 interview with the Press Association he declared that he was nearly finished, had publisher interest, and hoped for a Christmas 2009 release. His fellow Boyzone bandmate Ronan Keating promised at Gately's funeral that "by hook or by crook" the book would be finished.

The Tree of Seasons was written in collaboration with June Considine and Jules Williams. Based on Gately's handwritten notes – the day he died he had just worked out the ending. The book released in the UK and Ireland on 13 May 2010, published by Hodder & Stoughton. It contains heartfelt acknowledgements written by his widower Andrew Cowles, and a foreword by friends Sir Elton John and David Furnish. It is illustrated by Keith Wilson. The Tree of Seasons remained a best seller and a top ten seller for three consecutive weeks. The paperback version was released in April 2011.