Ronan Keating and Robbie Williams team up for song dedicated to Stephen Gately
Boyzone star Stephen sadly passed away in 2009
Last updated 9th Jul 2020
Ronan Keating was left heartbroken back in 2009, when his best friend and Boyzone band mate Stephen Gately sadly passed away at the age of just 33 whilst on holiday in Majorca.
As well as a number of beautiful tributes to Stephen over the last decade, Ronan has now revealed he's teamed up with the one and only Robbie Williams on a track which is dedicated to the late boyband star.
Admitting he had 'tears running down his face' when hearing the song, which was written by former Take That heartthrob Robbie, Ronan told Goss.ie about how the tribute came about.
He said, "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 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.
"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."
Check out Ronan Keating's amazing career through the years:
1994: Boyzone's beginnings
Manager Louis Walsh put out audition advertisements in 1993, looking for an 'Irish Take That'. After whittling 300 down to 50, the final band members were chosen to be Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Richard Rock, Shane Lynch and Mark Walton. When Richard left due to 'musical differences' with Ronan, he was replaced by Mikey Graham. Mark left a year later.
They got signed in 1994 after singing in pubs and clubs, releasing a cover of 'Working My Way Back to You' by Four Seasons, before putting out a cover of 'Love Me for a Reason' by the Osmonds, which peaked at Number 2 in the UK charts. Their debut album 'Said and Done' was released in August 1995 and went to Number 1 in the UK.
1996: Second album and Eurovision
The band's follow-up album 'A Different Beat' was released in 1996, and sold 2 million copies around the world as well as hitting Number 1 in the UK. Boyzone performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997, singing 'Let The Message Run Free', with Ronan also co-hosting the show with actress Carrie Crowley.
That same year, Ronan was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for songwriting for 'Picture of You', which appeared on the band's third album 'Where We Belong', released in 1998. It sold over 3 million copies worldwide and went to Number 1 in the UK.
1998: Ronan lost his mother, Marie
1998 brought sorrow for Ronan in his personal life - he lost his mother, Marie, to breast cancer. However, her devastating death spurred Ronan to open the Marie Keating Foundation, and it became a registered charity in 2001. It's now one of the biggest cancer charities in Ireland.
Boyzone recorded a version of 'No Matter What' from Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Whistle Down The Wind' musical - it became the band's best-selling single and was voted Song of the Year in 1998. Meat Loaf also covered the song, and the band teamed up with him to perform it on stage at his 1998 concert in Dublin. They also sang it with Luciano Pavarotti in Italy.
1999: Boyzone's greatest hits and split
The band released their greatest hits album 'By Request' in May 1999, and Ronan released his first solo single - 'When You Say Nothing At All', recorded for the film Notting Hill which came out that year. It went to Number 1 in the UK.
In November 1999, Boyzone announced that they would be taking some time out of the band to focus on their individual solo efforts. During the next seven years, Ronan managed other bands and wrote music, putting out his debut solo album 'Ronan' in 2000 which has since been certified 4x Platinum.
2002: Four more albums
Ronan released his second solo album 'Destination' in 2002 which went to Number 1 in the UK, third album 'Turn It On' in 2003, compilation album '10 Years of Hits' in 2004 and 'Bring You Home' in 2006, working with the likes of Elton John, Lulu and the Bee Gees across the records.
Ronan performed in front of around 250,000 people at the opening party for the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, singing a cover of 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls.
2007: Boyzone reunion and Stephen Gately's death
In November 2007, Boyzone announced that they were reuniting for a Children In Need performance, and soon after announced a huge tour which began in May 2008, with the band performing 58 dates around the world and finishing in June 2009. The band released their comeback single 'Love You Anyway', peaking at Number 5 in the UK. Ronan released his fifth album, 'Songs For My Mother', and followed it up with 'Winter Songs' soon afterwards.
Band member Stephen Gately tragically passed away on 10th October 2009 from an unknown heart condition. Ronan, Shane, Keith and Mikey issued a joint statement which read, 'Stephen tragically died yesterday whilst on holiday with his partner Andrew in Majorca. 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. Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen's family. We love you and will miss you forever, Steo.'
2010: 'Brother' album tribute to Stephen
Ronan, Shane, Keith and Mikey released their album 'Brother' in March 2010, a few months earlier than planned following Stephen's passing. It was released as a tribute to Stephen, and featured his vocals on 'Gave It All Away' and 'Stronger'. The album debuted at Number 1 in the UK and the band went on the 'Brother Tour' in February 2011.
Ronan also released his seventh solo album, 'Duet', in November 2010, and joined the panel of The X Factor Australia. Also in 2010, he split from his wife Yvonne and met fashion designer Storm Uechtritz, who he began a relationship with. In 2011, Ronan released his eighth album, 'When Ronan Met Burt', made up of covers and produced by Burt Bacharach. He toured Australia and New Zealand in 2012, and released his ninth album 'Fires', which he toured throughout the UK and Ireland in 2013. That year, he also appeared in film Goddess as the main character's husband.
2013: BZ20 and 'Dublin to Detroit'
Boyzone released album 'BZ20' in November 2013 to celebrate 20 years since the band formed, saying, "It seems crazy that 20 years have passed since we first got together but we are as excited now with the new album as we were back then. Bring on the next 20 years!" They went on the 'BZ20' tour to support the album's release, playing 48 shows in total.
The band released compilation album 'Love Me for a Reason – The Collection' in February 2014, and brand new album 'Dublin to Detroit' in November 2014 containing covers of Motown songs, including 'The Tracks of My Tears', 'You Can't Hurry Love' and 'This Old Heart of Mine'. Boyzone toured the album in the UK in 2015 and 2017, and Ronan took to the stage, performing as Guy in 'Once' the musical in London from November 2014 to March 2015. He married Storm in August 2015.
2016: The Voice Australia
Ronan was announced as a new judge on The Voice Australia, taking over from Ricky Martin in 2016. In February that year, he released his 10th album, 'Time of My Life', which went to Number 4 in the UK. In April 2017, Storm and Ronan welcomed their first child together - a son named Cooper. In September that year, Ronan joined Magic Radio as our Breakfast presenter alongside Harriet Scott!
Ronan returned to acting in 2017, having a small role in Australian drama Love Child as Lawrence Faber. In November 2019, Storm and Ronan announced that they are expecting their second child together - a baby girl.
2020: The 'Twenty Twenty' album
Ronan announced his 11th album 'Twenty Twenty' would be released on Friday 24th July 2020 - although he was set to go on tour to promote it in June 2020, it was unfortunately pushed back due to the global pandemic. It was initially rescheduled to January 2021, with Ronan set to perform at venues in Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London amongst many others. This has now been rescheduled to June 2021.
Ronan has released singles 'One of a Kind' featuring Emeli Sandé and 'Love Will Remain' with Clare Bowen from the album.
2021: The One Show
Ronan took to The One Show's famous red sofa as a co-host in 2017, and became a regular guest presenter in 2020. In April 2021, he was confirmed as a new permanent presenter alongside Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas, and now hosts with Alex on Thursdays and Fridays.
Ronan said: "I'm so delighted to officially be a part of The One Show family. It's a show I've loved for many years as both a guest and a host and I can't wait to get started alongside Alex, Jermaine and the wonderful team behind the scenes."
2021: PAW Patrol: The Movie
In July Paramount Pictures announced that Ronan will make a cameo in PAW Patrol: The Movie as the voice of Harris. The film also stars Samantha Faires, Richard Arnold, Tom Fletcher, Kim Kardashian West and Jimmy Kimmel.
The film is currently in cinemas.
2022: Ronan receives an Honorary Degree
In May 2022 Ronan was awarded an Honorary Degree by the Open University in recognition for his charitable work over the past 25 years.
Speaking about his degree, Ronan said: "I feel extremely proud to accept an Honorary Degree from the Open University, especially as it is in recognition of the charity fundraising I feel so passionate about on behalf of the Marie Keating Foundation and Cancer Research UK."
2023: Ronan joined the panel for ITV's Starstruck
In March 2023, fans were delighted when it was revealed that Ronan would be stepping in to join the panel for ITV's hit show Starstruck! Ronan kept regular panellist Shania Twain's seat warm for two weeks, as he appears on the show on Saturday 18th and Saturday 25th March 2023.
On joining the panel, Ronan said: "Honoured that Shania entrusted me with the task of being a judge on Starstruck and I happily took on the baton offering what I hope was constructive but yet supportive feedback.
"The contestants' performances blew me away, it's so exciting to see such wonderful singing talent and the fact that most of these contestants have never sung on a stage before is just incredible. I loved every second of it!"
2024: Ronan left the Magic Radio Breakfast Show
After seven incredible years, Ronan hung up his Magic Radio Breakfast Show hat. After an emotional last show, Ronan and his former co-presenter Harriet Scott shared a sweet hug as Ronan was clapped out of the building by all his beloved colleagues. Thankfully, Ronan will be remaining a friend of the station and we hope to see him return in the future as part of the Magic family. You can watch the emotional moment here.
The beautiful new duet from Ronan and Robbie, titled 'The Big Goodbye', is set to feature on Ronan's brand new album 'Twenty Twenty', which is due for release at the end of July 2020.