MUCH-loved Irish boyband Boyzone have paid tribute to their former bandmate Stephen Gately on the eighth anniversary of his death.
Stephen Gately, who was originally from Dublin but lived in Highgate, north London died at his holiday home in Majorca in October 2009.
He was found unresponsive in the early hours of the morning on October 10, and a post-mortem later revealed he had died of natural causes.
On the anniversary of his death, his bandmates posted emotional tributes to him on Instagram.
Keith Duffy said: "Our Steo, eight years an angel today! Going on Magic FM with Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham to raise a glass and remember our brother."
Ronan Keating also paid tribute to Gately saying: "Eight years today pal. Crazy how fast the time passes but feels like yesterday when you told me 'to shut the f**k up and give me a chip.'
"Miss the laughs when our heads hurt and our sides could burst. We all miss you dude," he said.
Speaking on Ronan Keating's breakfast programme on Magic Radio, they described him as 'the colour and the flair of the band.'
Keating said they always get together on this day and "raise a glass and laugh about him, laugh about the stories he used to tell us and the things he used to do.
"Steo was a character, he'd brighten up your day, with stories of where he grew up or things that happened to him. "
Keith Duffy said: "Obviously he was the gay guy in the band, and you'd expect him to be really butch because he had four straight guys but he made us really camp.
"He used to call Ronan Rosaleen, Mikey was Michaela, I was Kitty and Shanice (Shane) was stuck in traffic somewhere, " he joked.
Boyzone also announced they're back in the studio making an album to commemorate 25 years together.
