Nostalgia has often been used to stir deep, emotional responses within us. It’s like a time machine that we enjoy using, whether it’s through fashion trends, art, or even specific scents and sights. As a society, there’s a powerful yearning in us to revisit our past, particularly our youth, and celebrate the happy memories it held.
Hearing the tunes of yesterday’s boy bands or discovering an ancient poster that used to be stuck on the wall can give you a powerful, time-traveling jolt, reminding you of the exhilarating, hormone-filled episodes from your past.
30 years back, Boyzone, a band that conquered global music, presented an opportunity for adolescents in their rooms to experience the fairytale they had previously imagined. Their ever-changing hairstyles and endearing dance routines seemed to embody perfection.
Three decades after their initial success, a new documentary series titled “Boyzone: No Matter What” delves into the true experiences of Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham, and Stephen Gately during their boyband career. It also highlights how their private lives often became sensationalized targets for the notorious British tabloids.
This three-part series, produced by the same team behind Reclaiming Amy and Caroline Flack: Her Life & Death, exposes how loose the boundaries were between Boyzone members and international media outlets, but it particularly reveals how their managers manipulated the boys’ personal lives to drive them towards fame.
Louis Walsh, the originator and ex-manager of the band, is frequently seen in the documentary enjoying the media coverage that significantly contributed to the group’s commercial triumph during the mid to late ’90s. One particularly memorable headline from this period was a front cover story by entertainment journalist Rav Singh, who announced “Boyzone’s Stephen: I’m Gay and In Love”.
In 1999, when The Sun newspaper revealed Stephen Gately’s sexuality, it marked a significant shift in both the band’s dynamics and their interactions with the media. Essentially, this revelation made headlines across all tabloids; it was a story that everyone wanted to cover, regardless of other topics.
Regardless of any obstacles, the story had to be released, and Gately found himself compelled to pen a “coming out” letter as if it had been his intention from the start.
For the 23-year-old Irish singer at that time, his journey into fame was one filled with constant vigilance right from the start. He became an idol for girls worldwide, a status partly engineered by Walsh but also due to the rigid heterosexual norms prevalent then. The audience didn’t suspect he might not be straight as it was not common in the public eye, especially at such a high level of fame.
Raised in Sherriff Street, Dublin during the late ’70s and early ’80s, Gately, along with his four siblings, experienced a modest upbringing. Being homosexual was illegal in the Republic of Ireland until 1993, so throughout his adolescence, his sexuality was considered criminal. However, at the tender age of 17, his dreams of fame became reality as he secured a spot in the group that eventually became Boyzone after auditioning for the Irish equivalent of ‘Take That’.
Gately’s sexuality was an open secret among the band members and their management. Yet, Walsh attempted to conceal it by spreading false rumors about a relationship between him and Emma Bunton from the Spice Girls, in an effort to maintain the image of the ‘ideal boy band’.
In Episode 2 of the series “When the Going Gets Tough”, it is revealed that despite the headlines in The Sun, Gately concentrated on the band’s future. During this period, both Duffy and Graham discussed how, after being outed, Gately secluded himself, apprehensive about the response he might receive at a packed concert in Hyde Park.
He perceived his sexual orientation as a possible factor leading to the group’s downfall, mirroring once more the prejudiced stories about homosexuality that were prevalent during that period.
In a particular moment of the newly released documentary, Walsh expresses delight upon seeing the headlines once more, remarking on the thrill it brought the band. However, his reaction indicates a striking disconnect with the real people involved in the story, a disconnection that persists even three decades later.
So have times changed now?
Despite significant advancements in representing and recognizing LGBTQ+ individuals in the music industry and celebrity realm since 1999, curiosity about who identifies as gay among celebrities remains prevalent in both the general public and media.
Shawn Mendes, a well-known American singer-songwriter, and Kit Connor, star of Heartstopper, have both expressed disapproval towards overzealous media scrutiny and the pressure on social media to publicly declare their sexuality, emphasizing that these declarations should come from personal identity rather than speculation.
Beneath the glamour and spectacle, No Matter What offers a raw and truthful portrayal of how, even with fame and achievement, Keating, Duffy, Lynch, Graham, and Gately endured hardships related to their art. In this film, they finally have the opportunity to share their perspective, setting the record straight in 2025.
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2025-02-04 15:39