I expect simple behaviours here. Friendship, and love. Any advice should be from the perspective of the person asking, not the person giving! We have had to make new membership moderated to combat the huge number of spammers who register
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13750
33 is hugely young to die, and, though I was never a fan of Boyzone, he brought a sparkle to the band that none of the others ever could. There was something very alive behind his eyes, they always seemed to have a wicked twinkle in them.
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
The tune "No Matter What" featured in the vidéo and your post is from the musical WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND based on the 1961 film by the same name, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Jim Steinman (copyrights held by the Really Useful Group), the latter best known for his work with artists Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler.
I would certainly have to agree with you about Stephen's eyes; his eyes being what attracted me to him, and later the band Boyzone, after having viewed a Channel Four television special entitled "ABBAMania" aired locally here in Toronto, and produced in part by Mirvisch Productions as advance publicity for their then forthcoming London musical production "Momma Mia".
I provide for you the best copy I could find of a clip of Stephen performing "Chiqitita" taken from that television performance; unfortunately it's not of the finest quality, but does admirably illustrate what has for generations been popularized through the phrase "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (featured both in song and word), and which you and I both hold to be true about Stephen's eyes.
Another notable clip of Stephen performing is the second that I provide; one that will be familiar to many here, although not specifcally because of Stephen, or his performance, but rather for Stephen's version of the tune having been featured in the film "Billy Elliot".
And yes, age-33 is far too young to die. He will be missed.
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13750
Thank you, Warren. Boys like Stephen, the ordinary gay kid who just happens also to be well known and liked, are wonderful role models. They advance the cause of equality by their simple charm and normality
Location: New Zealand
Registered: August 2009
Messages: 317
Fame is fleeting! I told each person here, as they emerged this morning, "Stephen Gately died." The three ladies, two little boys and the 17yo boy all said, "Who?" The 15yo girl knew, she said, "Ohmigosh!"
However, they all knew the song when i played it.
Still think it's really sad, he was an okay singer and he did have laughing Irish eyes. Looked like a nice guy.
Gone too soon.
cheers
Commas matter - 'Party on Dudes' is not the same as 'Party on, Dudes'
Location: Worcester, England
Registered: January 2005
Messages: 1559
I was pleased to see that a number of major UK companies (including M&S in which I hold a couple of shares) demanded that their adverts be removed from the web version of the article. The Hate-Mail has now stripped that page of all advertising, which I hope hurts them financially.
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13750
The problem is that their advertisers needs the class of person that is a Mail reader, so this is just a minor hiccough. There will have been no real impact to their coffers. Ok they missed out on several impressions, and their advert regime is cost per impression, but the advertisers would have seen inflated impression figures and refused the bill anyway.
The Press Complaints Commission will only act if SG's family complains, and I suspect they are unlikely to do so. Grieving will be in the forefront of their minds, not complaining.
Even so the Facebook group has done sterling work in co-ordinating this, and Stephen Fry and Derren brown's tweets have been instrumental in making this fly. And fly it has!
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
... that had ensued at the time when I resurrected this thread this morning. I have no idea of where I must have been in the days after I contributed my comments two and some days before the shit hit the fan.
I intended solely to link to a recording of a tune which I felt would have been ideally suited to Stephen (and his remarkable pipes) had he lived, and that quite possibly might have become that one "blockbuster" hit which had eluded him in life.
The tune I speak of is Colbie Caillat's 2011 (co-written with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder) BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN; and I refer not to the rendition as performed by Ms Caillat herself; but, rather that performed by Katharine McPhee in THE WORKSHOP (Season One, Episode Seven of NBC's television series SMASH) which is unfortunately over-layed by the programme's opening credits.
Katharine's performance of this song is akin to watching Stephen whilst he sings CHIQUITITA in the vidéo embedded earlier in this thread. Gender difference aside watching Katharine I could have sworn that I was watching Stephen. The sheer magnitude of their enjoyment being evidenced in both performances simply takes my breathe away, and only further re-enforces (and
solidifies) in my mind just how significant that talent was and which was lost when Stephen passed away.
In addition Colbie Caillat's tune and especially Katharine McPhee's version of it, speaks to a much earlier thread I authored, entitled "Has anyone else ever wondered why ...", which addresses gender neutrality as I see it in popular music being recorded today, and popularized by Boyzone's music of the 1990's.
Unfortunately, after more hours today than I care to admit to, I was unable to actually find a user/studio-submitted clip of Katharine's appearance singing the tune, so God-willing and NBC/Universal's piracy-cops having a bad day, I created one for you and have just now uploaded it to my YouTube channel. Enjoy!
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
I have lodged a counter claim at YouTube under the FAIR USE provisions of U.S. Copyright Law; I should have an answer within 96 hours or earlier if I'm lucky.
Worst case scenario is that I will post the clip to Kim Dot Com's new MEGA web-site where I have several accounts and be done with it.
I tried to do this the nice way.
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
Both Timmy and I have verified them to be connected, so once I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the tune and its' suitability both for Stephen Gately and its' gender neutrality.
Again enjoy!
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
The vidéo has been banned from my YouTube account; moreover I have been apparently locked out for my even having considered challenging their adjudication board.
NBC/Universal in its' greater wisdom has determined that a one minute fifty-odd second excerpt taken from a forty-five minute television episode is is a threat to their copyright, FAIR USE or not; this not-with-standing the availability on YouTube of the entire SMASH Original Soundtrack (OST) recording for NOT ONLY Season 1, BUT ALSO the musical within a musical BOMBSHELL featured in the final episode of season 1.
I'm not sure what to do here? I don't want to endanger Timmy or his site in any protracted legal wrangle I may have with NBC/Universal if I were to pursue this matter further, or not; therefore, I will not post a link to the BANNED FILE in this forum.
Those A Place Of Safety users, not residing within the territorial confines of the contiguous 48-states of the Union, and not able to view a copy of the Season 1, Episode 7 segment entitled "The Workshop", or those not wanting to enter into the intricacies of P2P File-sharing to obtain a copy; BUT WANTING to actually see the clip as created, kindly e-Mail me at thegaydeceiver@hotmail.com requesting the clip and I will send it to you; you may then base your comment in the forum on the intended media; for the rest of you, who may be not wanting to rock the boat, I provide this link to the SMASH cast recording, featuring Katharine McPhee, of Caillat/Tedder's BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN, which however ironically has not been challenged by NBC/Universal, nor uploaded by them to their channel. Go Figure?
Unfortunately the aforementioned clip whilst it does the song justice, does not feature full-motion video so you are unable to actually see Katharine as she performs the tune, only hear her.
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
] 
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