I can't say that Boyzone ever factored into my music collection, but I'm sad to hear of Stephen Gately passing away at the all-too-young age of 33.When I first moved to L.A. in 1999, Stephen Gately came out a month later. I used to buy Smash Hits on import at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset Blvd., and it was the tail-end days of Boyzone. Everyone was all atwitter over his relationship at the time with that guy from Dutch boy band Caught In The Act, who'd covered Rick Astley's "My Arms Keep Missing You" a few years earlier.
Anyway, this year has just not been good for keeping people alive.