Ronan Keating has revealed he’s teamed up with Robbie Williams for a song dedicated to the late Stephen Gately.
Boyzone star Stephen sadly passed away aged 33 at his holiday home in Port D’Andratx, Majorca, on October 10 2009.
And Ronan revealed he ‘had tears running down my face’ after listening to the song penned by the Take That star in honour of Stephen.
Teamwork: Ronan Keating has revealed he’s teamed up with Robbie Williams for a song dedicated to the late Stephen Gately
Speaking to Goss.ie, the Irish star, 43, told how Robbie contacted him ‘out of the blue’ with a song he wrote on the 10th anniversary of Stephen’s death.
He told the publication: ‘Robbie emailed me out of the blue. It was Stephen’s 10th anniversary, and the boys and I were doing a TV show in London. Robbie saw the show and he emailed me that night.’
He continued: ‘He said “hey Ro, I have this song I wrote and I wrote it the week Stephen died.” And I’m standing in my kitchen, listening to this song with tears running down my face.
Gone too soon: Boyzone star Stephen sadly passed away aged 33 at his holiday home in Port D’Andratx, Majorca, on October 10 2009 (pictured in June 2009)
Tribute: Ronan revealed he ‘had tears running down my face’ after listening to the song penned by the Take That star in honour of Stephen
‘I said “let’s do something together on it it would be lovely”. And then we worked on this record, it’s a very special song.’
Ronan and Robbie arranged the song, called The Big Goodbye, to work as a duet and the track will feature on Ronan’s new album Twenty Twenty.
Twenty Twenty marks two decades of Ronan’s sucess in the music industry and features several duets including a track with Shania Twain.
Song: Speaking to Goss.ie , the Irish star, 43, told how Robbie contacted him ‘out of the blue’ with a song he wrote on the 10th anniversary of Stephen’s death
Idea: ‘Robbie emailed me out of the blue. It was Stephen’s 10th anniversary, and the boys and I were doing a TV show in London. Robbie saw the show and he emailed me that night’
Stephen tragically passed away after a night out with his husband Andrew Cowles while on vacation on the Spanish island – never waking up after going to bed.
Boyzone members Ronan, Keith Duffey, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham slept in the church – St Laurence O’Toole in Dublin – in sleeping bags next to Stephen’s coffin the night before his funeral.
Talking to Sky News in 2009, Ronan said of the night: ‘ We cried and we laughed and we could hear him telling us jokes and we could hear him answering back.
In memory: ‘I said “let’s do something together on it it would be lovely”. And then we worked on this record, it’s a very special song’
‘It was a beautiful, amazing experience to be there with Ste that night, and also outside, we went out at about 6am and the fans had spent the night outside also and it was unbelievable…
‘People cam from all over, people from Asia, from South Africa, from South America, from North America and Europe, incredible.
‘I felt very proud, I felt very proud that he was our mate and he classed us as his brother…’
Stephen’s funeral, held at St Laurence O’Toole Church in Dublin in October 2009, was attended by Boyzone manager Louis Walsh, fellow Irish band Westlife and Elton John’s husband David Furnish.
The group achieved international fame as well as six UK No.1s – including Words, No Matter What, All That Matters To Me and You Needed Me.
So sad: Boyzone members Ronan, Keith Duffey, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham slept in the church – St Laurence O’Toole in Dublin – in sleeping bags next to Stephen’s coffin the night before his funeral