New documentary with emotional insight Boyzone stars slept next to their late friend's coffin

Vanessa Büchel

29.1.2025

In October 2009, Boyzone member Steven Gately died. At the funeral in his native Dublin, his bandmates carried his coffin.
In October 2009, Boyzone member Steven Gately died. At the funeral in his native Dublin, his bandmates carried his coffin.
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In a new documentary, the former members of Boyzone recall the worst moment of their career: when their friend Stephen Gately died unexpectedly. They spent a whole night next to his coffin.

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • Boyzone singer Stephen Gately died suddenly in 2009 at the age of just 33, leaving his bandmates devastated.
  • The night before the funeral, the band members stayed by his coffin in the church so as not to leave their friend alone.
  • Ronan Keating and co. remember this in a new Sky documentary about the band, which will be released on February 2.

They couldn't believe it when the news reached them: it was Ronan Keating (47) who first learned of the death of his friend Stephen Gately (1976-2009) and then had to tell his bandmates - Keith Duffy (50), Mikey Graham (52) and Shane Lynch (48). He was informed by the band's lawyer.

"It just wouldn't go into our heads. Not our Stephen," recalls Keith Duffy in the new Sky documentary "Boyzone: No Matter What" , according to the Daily Mail. And Graham adds: "My world just fell apart."

Gately died at his home in Mallorca in October 2009. It was later said that pulmonary edema due to an undiagnosed heart condition was the cause of death.

For his bandmates at the time, it was inconceivable that their friend was no longer with them. That's why they didn't want to leave him alone the night before the funeral and slept in the church next to his coffin, according to the Daily Mail.

Band members didn't want to leave their friend alone

"We didn't want him to be left alone in the church overnight," Graham is said to explain in the series, with Ronan adding that her friend "didn't like the cold".

But the atmosphere was not oppressive, the former Boyzone stars recall: "When everyone else had left and it was just the five of us, there was a great sense of peace and unity."

The documentary about the former Irish boyband will be shown on Sky from February 2, 2025. "For the first time in 30 years, the Boyzone band members give rare and exclusive interviews about their time in one of the biggest boybands in history," according to the Sky website.


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