Boyzone mourn 'friend and brother' Gately

Following the death of Stephen Gately last night, the remaining members of Boyzone today paid tribute to their “friend and brother, Stephen”, as they made their way to Spain.

Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch said: “We are completely devastated by the loss of our friend and brother, Stephen.

“We have shared such wonderful times together over the years and were all looking forward to sharing many more.

“Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. He lit up our lives and those of the many friends he had all over the world.

“Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen’s family. We love you and will miss you forever ’Steo’.”

Westlife band members Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan said Gately helped pave the way for them in the music industry and was “friendly, positive spirit and a passionate performer”.

“We are, like everyone else, in shock today,” they said.

“We met Stephen Gately back in 1998 when we first started out and since then had the pleasure of meeting him many times.

“Himself and the Boyzone lads paved the way for us as a band.

“He was a friendly, positive spirit and a passionate performer.

“Our thoughts are with Andy and the rest of his family, his friends, his legions of fans and of course his bandmates Keith, Mikey, Shane and Ronan who will be devastated at the loss of a truly beautiful person.”