Gareth Gates
Encyclopedia
Gareth Paul Gates is an English singer-songwriter
. He was the runner-up in the first series
of the ITV
talent show
Pop Idol
. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK alone. He is also known for having a stutter
, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly. Gates used the McGuire Programme
to correct the problem and is now a speech coach with the programme.
In 2009, Gates moved into musical theatre
, playing the title role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre. He has recently completed an eighteen month stint as Marius, initially in the touring production and then in the West End production of Les Misérables
.
Gates and his sisters attended Dixons City Technology College
in West Bowling, Bradford where Gates studied art and music at GCSE level.
He joined Bradford Cathedral choir at age nine. He was head chorister by the age of eleven, singing solo for the Queen when she visited in 1997. Gates achieved Grade VIII in piano, classical guitar and singing. He had gained a place at the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester
before the finals of Pop Idol
.
on the first series
of Pop Idol
in February 2002. Despite not winning the competition, he was soon signed up by Simon Cowell
to the BMG
label.
Gates' first single, a cover of "Unchained Melody
", entered the UK Singles Chart
at number one. The single went double-platinum in the UK, and was voted 2002's The Record of the Year
by ITV viewers. This was followed by another number-one single, "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)
". His third single, a double A-side "Suspicious Minds/"The Long and Winding Road
", a duet with Pop Idol winner Will Young, also reached number one. His fourth, "What My Heart Wants to Say
", reached number five. Gates's debut album What My Heart Wants to Say
achieved first week sales of 100,000 copies, peaking at number two in the UK Albums Chart
, and eventually earned double platinum status in the UK.
The now-defunct Smash Hits
magazine dedicated 7 October 2002 as International Gareth Gates Day. In 2003, Gates sang the 2003 Comic Relief charity single, "Spirit in the Sky
", with The Kumars
. The single was a UK number-one for two weeks. He also appeared in Comic Relief's Celebrity Driving School. Through Comic Relief, he became involved with Body and Soul, a charity that helps people affected by HIV
and AIDS
.
His next single, "Sunshine
", reached number three and was taken from his second album Go Your Own Way
, which was released in October 2003. However, the album was far less successful than his debut album. It peaked at number eleven in the UK before dropping to #32 the following week, and only spent four weeks on the album chart altogether. The album enjoyed slightly more success in a number of Asian countries however, and Gates won MTV Asia's award
for Best International Male in 2003/04. He was awarded the same title by MTV
China and MTV Taiwan
.
His next single, "Say it Isn't So", reached number four in late 2003, but proved to be Gates' last single release in the UK until April 2007. At the start of 2004 he did an arena tour of the UK, then continued to promote his album throughout Europe and Asia, before taking a break and training as a speech coach and course instructor with the McGuire Programme.
By this point, Gates had sold just over three million music single
s in the UK, including the second and sixth best selling singles in 2002 ("Unchained Melody
", which sold 1.4 million, and "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)
", which sold 581,000) and the second best selling single in 2003 ("Spirit in the Sky
", 561,000 copies). All three of these singles were listed in the Top 100 singles of the decade (2000–2009) as announced on Radio 1 with Spirit in the Sky at no. 62, Anyone of Us (no. 56), and Unchained Melody (no. 2). The biggest selling single of the decade was, ironically, "Anything is Possible"/"Evergreen" by Will Young, whom Gates had lost the Pop Idol contest to.
In the 2003 film, Seeing Double, alongside pop group S Club, Gates played a clone version of himself. He also promoted AIDS awareness through a charity concert to 50,000 people with MTV
in Indonesia
.
In 2006, Gates appeared in a television documentary for ITV1
called Whatever Happened To Gareth Gates?, which dealt with his experiences in the music industry and his life outside it. The documentary was screened in December 2006, and confirmed a new record deal with UMTV
(part of Universal) and a new album as well as showcasing snippets of the new material. An early preview of his new album was given at a secret gig on 29 November 2006. Gates had been working with writers such as Sacha Skarbek (who has worked with James Blunt
), Ricky Ross
(of Deacon Blue
), Gary Clark
and Pete Gordeno, and new the album was produced by Martin Terefe, Jon Hall and Nick Whitecross.
Since 2004 Gates had also been working with singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke
. Initial contact was apparently made through Lucie Silvas
. Gates' regular acoustic guitarist, Graham Kearns, also worked with Tzuke and has writing credits with Gates on both albums. Appearing at the Limelight venue in Crewe
during Tzuke's October 2004 tour, Gates sang backing vocals to a surprised audience on Tzuke's track "Bully" (from her album Secret Agent
). A song Gates co-wrote with Tzuke, "Dark Days", appeared on Tzuke's 2007 album Songs 1
.
On 30 March 2007, Gates appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
, the first time he participated in an interview for a mainstream television chat-show since his speech improvement.
The first single from Gates' third album was "Changes
" which was released on 9 April 2007. The single peaked at Number 14. A second single, "Angel on My Shoulder
", was released on 18 June 2007, peaking at Number 22. Both singles remained in the UK top 40 for only one week. Gates' third album, Pictures of the Other Side
, was released on 25 June 2007. It proved to be Gates' lowest selling album to date and spent only two weeks on the UK album chart, entering at Number 23 before falling to Number 66 the following week, then dropping out of the chart altogether.
During his time working with Judie Tzuke, Gates also co-wrote the song "Christmas And I'm Home" with her. It was first premiered live by Gates in 2004 in Bradford, and Tzuke recorded the song with pianist Haim Cotton. Tzuke's version was released commercially in November 2008, as a charity single download and as a physical CD single sold exclusively through the CD Baby
website.
& Anthony Drewe
.' Gates played the part of Robbie in a preview of a new musical "Soho Cinders" and features on the album.
In January 2009, Gates confirmed in an interview with the Daily Mail
that he has no plans to go back to the pop music scene in the near future, planning instead to concentrate on musical theatre, as he had just been cast in the lead role in Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
at the Adelphi Theatre
, London. Taking over the role from Lee Mead
, Gates began the role on 7 February 2009 and continued to play the part until the final performance on 30 May 2009.
Gates performed at the charity event "Broadway To West End by Special Arrangement" on 4 October 2009 at the Drury Lane Theatre, singing "Why God, Why?" as a solo and "The Last Night of the World" as a duet with Ima Castro. Both songs come from the musical Miss Saigon
. The event was to honour the work of orchestrator William David Brohm and raised funds for CLIC Sargent Cancer care.
In June 2009, it was announced that Gates was joining the cast of the International 25th Anniversary World Tour production of Les Misérables
in the role of Marius. Gates had been offered the choice of playing Marius in London's West End or in the anniversary tour, but opted for the tour as it was a new production and there was the opportunity to make the part his own.
In January 2010 Cameron Mackintosh
BBC Manchester that there was to be a live cast recording of the production, recorded in Manchester,. This double album was released in the UK on 13 September 2010, Les Misérables Live on the label First Night Records.
Following the final performance of the anniversary tour at The Barbican, London, in October 2010, Gates joined the West End production of Les Misérables at Queen's Theatre where he continued to play the part of Marius until June 2011.
Gates is currently taking a break from musical theatre to work on other projects, including writing a new album, but will return in March 2012, taking the part of Claude in the UK touring production of Hair
awards in 2002, which he won for Unchained Melody
. In October 2006, The People
newspaper incorrectly reported that they had secretly married. Gates and Mole got engaged on New Years Eve 2007 and were married on 18 July 2008 in a private ceremony for family and friends. The couple had their first child together on 6 April 2009, a girl they named Missy.
Gates qualified as a speech coach and latterly as a course instructor with the McGuire Programme
where he helps those with stammers similar to his own. He co-led his first full course in February 2005 and in August 2006 he instructed his first course single-handedly in Galway
, Ireland. He led his second at Bournemouth
in November 2006, and continues to lead courses in the UK and Ireland, the most recent of which was in November 2010, with further courses scheduled in October in Birmingham
and in Galway in November 2011.
"Gareth Gates' Stammer House" is to form part of the new documentary season for BBC Three
recently announced by Zai Bennett
at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August 2011, due to air later this year. In the documentary made by IWC Media, Gates will will take five young men and women who've stammered since childhood and in four intense days transform their lives. Over the four days the group will confront their stuttering demons on an intensive and testing course. Speaking of the documentary, he said "Hopefully this documentary will give people an insight into something that most take for granted - speaking!"
Gates spoke to MPs including David Amess MP, Robert Buckland MP, and Steve Brine MP at the Palace of Westminster
as part of a briefing on communication disability hosted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Centre for Social Justice. Gates said “By speaking today I hope to shed light on the issues that surround speech and language difficulties. In particular, through my own experiences, I want to explain how the inability to converse and communicate drastically shapes and moulds people’s lives. It determines the sort of people they become and the paths they follow. On 18 October 2011 his work as an ambassador, raising awareness of the issues surrounding speech difficulties was recognised at the Giving Voice Awards Ceremony.
Gates is a patron of the HIV/AIDS charity Body and Soul and of the Bobby Moore Fund, which supports research into bowel cancer. He took part in the 2009 Cosmo Everyman campaign to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.
In 2008, Gates appeared on ITV1
's Dancing on Ice
with skating partner Maria Filippov
, finishing fourth, losing a place in the final to Zaraah Abrahams
and dancing partner Fred Palascak.
On 7 September 2008, Gates played for England against The Rest of the World in Soccer Aid
2008 at Wembley in aid of UNICEF. He was substituted for Tom Felton
. England won 4-3.
Gates played Prince Charming in the pantomime
'Cinderella' at New Wimbledon Theatre, from December 2008 to January 2009 alongside Joanna Page
and Alistair McGowan
. Further pantomimes followed - the Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Woking in 2010-11 and Aladdin in Milton Keynes in 2011-12
In December 2009, Gates took part in ITV's All Star Family Fortunes, along with wife Suzanne, mum Wendy, sister Nicola and best friend Matt, and won £30,000 for the Bobby Moore Fund for bowel cancer. Other TV and sporting activities for charity have included an appearance on Sky's Don't forget the Lyrics and ITV's Mr and Mrs again for the Bobby Moore Fund and various events for the Rhys Daniels Trust.
In August 2011. he was Jersey's Mr Battle in the Battle of the Flowers.
Working with Jonathan Wilkes
, his wife Suzanne and Wilkes' wife Nikki, Gates set up the Gates and Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts for young people from 5-18, in London and his home town of Bradford. In October 2011, Gates announced that he and Wilkes were opening a further academy in Milton Keynes
.
It was reported that Gates lost his virginity to glamour model Katie Price
during the 2002 Pop Idol. Gates initially denied the rumours but finally admitted the relationship in 2003.
In 2009, it was reported that Gates has made an estimated £6.5 million during his career to date. The Irish Independent
newspaper reported that Gates was one of a number of celebrities with investments in the company Ingenious Media
, which backed a number of films, including Avatar (2009 film) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine
.
On the 19th November 2011, Gates performed and headlined Derby's Christmas Lights turn on.
Other notable concerts
Overseas
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. He was the runner-up in the first series
Pop Idol (series 1)
The first series of British reality television show Pop Idol was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom during the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a singing competition open to people aged between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1million recording contract to release...
of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
talent show
Talent show
A talent show is an event where participants perform their talent or talents of acting, singing, dancing, acrobatics, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, and other activities to showcase a unique form of talent, sometimes for a reward, trophy or prize...
Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK alone. He is also known for having a stutter
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly. Gates used the McGuire Programme
McGuire Programme
The McGuire Programme is a treatment programme run by stammerers which involves the use of costal breathing to control the condition. It was founded in 1994 by Dave McGuire, himself a person who stammers...
to correct the problem and is now a speech coach with the programme.
In 2009, Gates moved into musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, playing the title role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre. He has recently completed an eighteen month stint as Marius, initially in the touring production and then in the West End production of Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
.
Early life
Gates was born in West Bowling, Bradford to father Paul and mother Wendy Broadbent (née Farry). He has three sisters, Nicola (born 1985), Charlotte (born 1991), and Jessica (born 1993) and grew up with his cousin James (born 1986) who was fostered by the family. His parents regularly foster other children.Gates and his sisters attended Dixons City Technology College
Dixons City Academy
Dixons City Academy is an Academy in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The school was originally founded in 1990 as Dixons City Technology College which focused on a specialism of Design & Technology and Product Design. In 2005 the school converted into an Academy and in doing so changed its name to Dixons...
in West Bowling, Bradford where Gates studied art and music at GCSE level.
He joined Bradford Cathedral choir at age nine. He was head chorister by the age of eleven, singing solo for the Queen when she visited in 1997. Gates achieved Grade VIII in piano, classical guitar and singing. He had gained a place at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
before the finals of Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
.
2002-2003: Pop Idol, What My Heart Wants to Say and Go Your Own Way
Gates was the runner-up to Will YoungWill Young
William Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...
on the first series
Pop Idol (series 1)
The first series of British reality television show Pop Idol was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom during the winter months of 2001 and 2002. The show was a singing competition open to people aged between 16 and 26 years old, with the winner receiving a £1million recording contract to release...
of Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
in February 2002. Despite not winning the competition, he was soon signed up by Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
to the BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
label.
Gates' first single, a cover of "Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
", entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number one. The single went double-platinum in the UK, and was voted 2002's The Record of the Year
The Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is an award voted by the UK public. For many years it was given in conjunction with television programmes of the same name...
by ITV viewers. This was followed by another number-one single, "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)
Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)
"Anyone of Us " is the second single from English pop singer Gareth Gates' debut studio album What My Heart Wants to Say. The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and produced by Magnusson and Kreuger. The single was released in July 2002, entering the Top 40 at...
". His third single, a double A-side "Suspicious Minds/"The Long and Winding Road
The Long and Winding Road
"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
", a duet with Pop Idol winner Will Young, also reached number one. His fourth, "What My Heart Wants to Say
What My Heart Wants to Say (song)
"What My Heart Wants to Say" is the fourth single from English pop singer Gareth Gates' debut studio album of the same name. The song was written by Jorgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and produced by Magnusson and Kreuger. Upon its release on 9 December 2002, the single peaked at #5...
", reached number five. Gates's debut album What My Heart Wants to Say
What My Heart Wants to Say
What My Heart Wants to Say is the debut album from Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates. The album was released on 26 October 2002, almost a year after his success in the show. The album was produced by Mike Peden, and featured a range of Gates' own songs, as well as covers...
achieved first week sales of 100,000 copies, peaking at number two in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, and eventually earned double platinum status in the UK.
The now-defunct Smash Hits
Smash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...
magazine dedicated 7 October 2002 as International Gareth Gates Day. In 2003, Gates sang the 2003 Comic Relief charity single, "Spirit in the Sky
Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The single sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970 and reached number three in the U.S. Billboard chart, as well as number one on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone...
", with The Kumars
The Kumars at No. 42
The Kumars at No. 42 was a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and in 2003. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes.-Plot:...
. The single was a UK number-one for two weeks. He also appeared in Comic Relief's Celebrity Driving School. Through Comic Relief, he became involved with Body and Soul, a charity that helps people affected by HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
His next single, "Sunshine
Sunshine (Gareth Gates song)
"Sunshine" is the second single released from Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates' second studio album, Go Your Own Way. The single was released on September 13, 2003, and it peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart...
", reached number three and was taken from his second album Go Your Own Way
Go Your Own Way (album)
Go Your Own Way is the second studio album released by British pop singer Gareth Gates. The album is split onto two discs, "Night", and "Day". It is Gates' last album on the Sony BMG record label, as sales of Go Your Own Way were much lower than Gates' first studio album, What My Heart Wants to Say...
, which was released in October 2003. However, the album was far less successful than his debut album. It peaked at number eleven in the UK before dropping to #32 the following week, and only spent four weeks on the album chart altogether. The album enjoyed slightly more success in a number of Asian countries however, and Gates won MTV Asia's award
MTV Asia Awards
The biannual MTV Asia Awards is the Asian equivalent of the Europe MTV EMA. Established in 2002, the show gives recognition and awards to Asian and international icons in achievement, cinema, fashion, humanitarian, and music. Just like the EMA, most of the awards are voted for by the viewers from...
for Best International Male in 2003/04. He was awarded the same title by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
China and MTV Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
His next single, "Say it Isn't So", reached number four in late 2003, but proved to be Gates' last single release in the UK until April 2007. At the start of 2004 he did an arena tour of the UK, then continued to promote his album throughout Europe and Asia, before taking a break and training as a speech coach and course instructor with the McGuire Programme.
By this point, Gates had sold just over three million music single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s in the UK, including the second and sixth best selling singles in 2002 ("Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
", which sold 1.4 million, and "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)
Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)
"Anyone of Us " is the second single from English pop singer Gareth Gates' debut studio album What My Heart Wants to Say. The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger, and produced by Magnusson and Kreuger. The single was released in July 2002, entering the Top 40 at...
", which sold 581,000) and the second best selling single in 2003 ("Spirit in the Sky
Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The single sold two million copies in 1969 and 1970 and reached number three in the U.S. Billboard chart, as well as number one on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone...
", 561,000 copies). All three of these singles were listed in the Top 100 singles of the decade (2000–2009) as announced on Radio 1 with Spirit in the Sky at no. 62, Anyone of Us (no. 56), and Unchained Melody (no. 2). The biggest selling single of the decade was, ironically, "Anything is Possible"/"Evergreen" by Will Young, whom Gates had lost the Pop Idol contest to.
In the 2003 film, Seeing Double, alongside pop group S Club, Gates played a clone version of himself. He also promoted AIDS awareness through a charity concert to 50,000 people with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
2004-2009: Pictures Of The Other Side
In 2003 and 2004, it was reported that Gates was being dropped by his record company BMG. The reports, which also cited low sales of his second album and low concert ticket sales as reasons, were denied by both Gates and the record company at the time. Gates was later dropped from the label in April 2006 before the release of any new material.In 2006, Gates appeared in a television documentary for ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
called Whatever Happened To Gareth Gates?, which dealt with his experiences in the music industry and his life outside it. The documentary was screened in December 2006, and confirmed a new record deal with UMTV
UMTV
Universal Music TV is a London-based record label that was formed in 1998.Owned by Universal Music Group, UMTV specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases...
(part of Universal) and a new album as well as showcasing snippets of the new material. An early preview of his new album was given at a secret gig on 29 November 2006. Gates had been working with writers such as Sacha Skarbek (who has worked with James Blunt
James Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
), Ricky Ross
Ricky Ross (musician)
Ricky Ross, born Richard Alexander Ross is a Scottish singer-songwriter and broadcaster, most famously for his work with the rock band, Deacon Blue.-Biography:...
(of Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow during 1985. Their name was taken from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". The band consists of vocalist Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond....
), Gary Clark
Gary Clark
Gary C. Clark is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played for the Washington Redskins , Phoenix Cardinals and Miami Dolphins .-Early life:...
and Pete Gordeno, and new the album was produced by Martin Terefe, Jon Hall and Nick Whitecross.
Since 2004 Gates had also been working with singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke
Judie Tzuke
Judie Tzuke is an English singer/songwriter. She is most well known for her 1979 hit "Stay With Me Till Dawn", which reached no.16 on the UK Singles Chart.-Early life:...
. Initial contact was apparently made through Lucie Silvas
Lucie Silvas
Lucie Silvas is a British singer-songwriter.- Early life :...
. Gates' regular acoustic guitarist, Graham Kearns, also worked with Tzuke and has writing credits with Gates on both albums. Appearing at the Limelight venue in Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
during Tzuke's October 2004 tour, Gates sang backing vocals to a surprised audience on Tzuke's track "Bully" (from her album Secret Agent
Secret Agent (Judie Tzuke album)
Secret Agent is the title of the eleventh studio album by the British singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke, released in 1998.-Track listing:# "Tonight"# "Swallowing"# "Both Alone"# "That's Where My Heart Used to Be"# "The Girl I Want to Be"# "Secret Agent"...
). A song Gates co-wrote with Tzuke, "Dark Days", appeared on Tzuke's 2007 album Songs 1
Songs 1 (Judie Tzuke album)
Songs 1 is the fifthteenth studio album by the British singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke, released in 2007.Many of the songs featured on the album were written with other recording artists, such as Ben Mark, David Saw and Gareth Gates, and have in fact appeared on their own albums.The album features...
.
On 30 March 2007, Gates appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
, the first time he participated in an interview for a mainstream television chat-show since his speech improvement.
The first single from Gates' third album was "Changes
Changes (Gareth Gates song)
"Changes" is the first single taken from Gareth Gates' third studio album, Pictures of the Other Side. It was released on 9 April 2007 and was his first commercial single since "Say It Isn't So" in 2003. The single charted at No...
" which was released on 9 April 2007. The single peaked at Number 14. A second single, "Angel on My Shoulder
Angel on My Shoulder (song)
"Angel on My Shoulder" is the second and final single taken released from Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates' third studio album, Pictures of the Other Side. Gates describes the song as a song that "everyone can relate to in some way". He also points out that "lyrically, it talks about a figure in...
", was released on 18 June 2007, peaking at Number 22. Both singles remained in the UK top 40 for only one week. Gates' third album, Pictures of the Other Side
Pictures of the Other Side
Pictures of the Other Side is the third and final studio album released by British singer-songwriter Gareth Gates. The album was released nearly four years after his second album, Go Your Own Way. Two singles were released from the album: "Changes" and "Angel on My Shoulder". The album peaked at...
, was released on 25 June 2007. It proved to be Gates' lowest selling album to date and spent only two weeks on the UK album chart, entering at Number 23 before falling to Number 66 the following week, then dropping out of the chart altogether.
During his time working with Judie Tzuke, Gates also co-wrote the song "Christmas And I'm Home" with her. It was first premiered live by Gates in 2004 in Bradford, and Tzuke recorded the song with pianist Haim Cotton. Tzuke's version was released commercially in November 2008, as a charity single download and as a physical CD single sold exclusively through the CD Baby
CD Baby
CD Baby is an online music store specializing in the sale of CDs and digital music downloads from independent musicians to consumers. The company is also a digital aggregator of independent music recordings, distributing content to several online digital music retailers.CD Baby has achieved recent...
website.
Musical Theatre
On 6 July 2008 Gates starred in the line-up for "A Spoonful of Stiles & Drewe", a charity fundraiser to celebrate 25 years of musical theatre composers George StilesGeorge Stiles
George William Stiles is an English composer of musicals for stage and screen.-Education:From 1974 to 1979, he was educated at Gresham's School, in Norfolk.George Stiles also went to Exeter University.-Collaboration with Anthony Drewe:...
& Anthony Drewe
Anthony Drewe
Anthony Drewe is a British lyricist and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles.-Work with George Stiles:*additional songs for the musical Mary Poppins*Tutankhamun*Honk!...
.' Gates played the part of Robbie in a preview of a new musical "Soho Cinders" and features on the album.
In January 2009, Gates confirmed in an interview with the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
that he has no plans to go back to the pop music scene in the near future, planning instead to concentrate on musical theatre, as he had just been cast in the lead role in Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
, London. Taking over the role from Lee Mead
Lee Mead
Lee Stephen Mead is an English musical theatre actor, best known for winning the title role in the 2007 West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through the BBC reality TV casting show Any Dream Will Do...
, Gates began the role on 7 February 2009 and continued to play the part until the final performance on 30 May 2009.
Gates performed at the charity event "Broadway To West End by Special Arrangement" on 4 October 2009 at the Drury Lane Theatre, singing "Why God, Why?" as a solo and "The Last Night of the World" as a duet with Ima Castro. Both songs come from the musical Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
. The event was to honour the work of orchestrator William David Brohm and raised funds for CLIC Sargent Cancer care.
In June 2009, it was announced that Gates was joining the cast of the International 25th Anniversary World Tour production of Les Misérables
Les Misérables
Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
in the role of Marius. Gates had been offered the choice of playing Marius in London's West End or in the anniversary tour, but opted for the tour as it was a new production and there was the opportunity to make the part his own.
In January 2010 Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
BBC Manchester that there was to be a live cast recording of the production, recorded in Manchester,. This double album was released in the UK on 13 September 2010, Les Misérables Live on the label First Night Records.
Following the final performance of the anniversary tour at The Barbican, London, in October 2010, Gates joined the West End production of Les Misérables at Queen's Theatre where he continued to play the part of Marius until June 2011.
Gates is currently taking a break from musical theatre to work on other projects, including writing a new album, but will return in March 2012, taking the part of Claude in the UK touring production of Hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
Personal life, charitable work and other activities
Gates lives in Chiswick, West London, with wife Suzanne Gates (née Mole), a dancer and cheorographer whom he met at the Record of the YearRecord Of The Year
Record of the Year may refer to:*Grammy Award for Record of the Year*The Record of the Year, a British award based on public polling...
awards in 2002, which he won for Unchained Melody
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. It has become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some counts having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages....
. In October 2006, The People
The People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....
newspaper incorrectly reported that they had secretly married. Gates and Mole got engaged on New Years Eve 2007 and were married on 18 July 2008 in a private ceremony for family and friends. The couple had their first child together on 6 April 2009, a girl they named Missy.
Gates qualified as a speech coach and latterly as a course instructor with the McGuire Programme
McGuire Programme
The McGuire Programme is a treatment programme run by stammerers which involves the use of costal breathing to control the condition. It was founded in 1994 by Dave McGuire, himself a person who stammers...
where he helps those with stammers similar to his own. He co-led his first full course in February 2005 and in August 2006 he instructed his first course single-handedly in Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, Ireland. He led his second at Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
in November 2006, and continues to lead courses in the UK and Ireland, the most recent of which was in November 2010, with further courses scheduled in October in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and in Galway in November 2011.
"Gareth Gates' Stammer House" is to form part of the new documentary season for BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
recently announced by Zai Bennett
Zai Bennett
-Career:Zai Bennett started his career in 1995 in the post room at Carlton Television, then worked as presentation scheduler for the launch of Channel 5 in 1997. He worked for ITV from 1998 in a number of roles including Head of Programme Strategy, ITV Digital Channels and ITV2 Programming and...
at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August 2011, due to air later this year. In the documentary made by IWC Media, Gates will will take five young men and women who've stammered since childhood and in four intense days transform their lives. Over the four days the group will confront their stuttering demons on an intensive and testing course. Speaking of the documentary, he said "Hopefully this documentary will give people an insight into something that most take for granted - speaking!"
Gates spoke to MPs including David Amess MP, Robert Buckland MP, and Steve Brine MP at the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
as part of a briefing on communication disability hosted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Centre for Social Justice. Gates said “By speaking today I hope to shed light on the issues that surround speech and language difficulties. In particular, through my own experiences, I want to explain how the inability to converse and communicate drastically shapes and moulds people’s lives. It determines the sort of people they become and the paths they follow. On 18 October 2011 his work as an ambassador, raising awareness of the issues surrounding speech difficulties was recognised at the Giving Voice Awards Ceremony.
Gates is a patron of the HIV/AIDS charity Body and Soul and of the Bobby Moore Fund, which supports research into bowel cancer. He took part in the 2009 Cosmo Everyman campaign to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.
In 2008, Gates appeared on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
with skating partner Maria Filippov
Maria Filippov
Maria Filippov is a Bulgarian ice skater.-Career:As Maria Hadjiiska, she was a member of the Bulgarian national ice dancing team from 1988 to 1992 and her country's national ice dance champion in 1990-1991...
, finishing fourth, losing a place in the final to Zaraah Abrahams
Zaraah Abrahams
Zaraah Abrahams is an actress who is most famous for starring in Waterloo Road and competing in Dancing on Ice.-Early life:...
and dancing partner Fred Palascak.
On 7 September 2008, Gates played for England against The Rest of the World in Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...
2008 at Wembley in aid of UNICEF. He was substituted for Tom Felton
Tom Felton
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Felton is an English actor and musician. He is best known for playing the role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series, the movie adaptations of the best-selling Harry Potter fantasy novels by author J. K...
. England won 4-3.
Gates played Prince Charming in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
'Cinderella' at New Wimbledon Theatre, from December 2008 to January 2009 alongside Joanna Page
Joanna Page
Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Stacey in the television series, Gavin and Stacey.-Early and personal life:...
and Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003...
. Further pantomimes followed - the Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Woking in 2010-11 and Aladdin in Milton Keynes in 2011-12
In December 2009, Gates took part in ITV's All Star Family Fortunes, along with wife Suzanne, mum Wendy, sister Nicola and best friend Matt, and won £30,000 for the Bobby Moore Fund for bowel cancer. Other TV and sporting activities for charity have included an appearance on Sky's Don't forget the Lyrics and ITV's Mr and Mrs again for the Bobby Moore Fund and various events for the Rhys Daniels Trust.
In August 2011. he was Jersey's Mr Battle in the Battle of the Flowers.
Working with Jonathan Wilkes
Jonathan Wilkes
Jonathan Wilkes is an English television presenter, actor and musician. Jonny Wilkes is currently performing as Billy Flynn in Chicago at The Cambridge Theatre, London. He is also the best friend of singer Robbie Williams...
, his wife Suzanne and Wilkes' wife Nikki, Gates set up the Gates and Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts for young people from 5-18, in London and his home town of Bradford. In October 2011, Gates announced that he and Wilkes were opening a further academy in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
.
It was reported that Gates lost his virginity to glamour model Katie Price
Jordan (Katie Price)
Katie Price , previously known under the pseudonym Jordan, is an English media personality, author, former glamour model, occasional singer and businesswoman....
during the 2002 Pop Idol. Gates initially denied the rumours but finally admitted the relationship in 2003.
In 2009, it was reported that Gates has made an estimated £6.5 million during his career to date. The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
newspaper reported that Gates was one of a number of celebrities with investments in the company Ingenious Media
Ingenious Media
Ingenious Media is a UK media investment and advisory group founded in 1998 by Patrick McKenna who is its Chief Executive Officer....
, which backed a number of films, including Avatar (2009 film) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American action film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009...
.
On the 19th November 2011, Gates performed and headlined Derby's Christmas Lights turn on.
Tours and concerts
Tours- Pop Idol Arena Tour 2002
- Will and Gareth Arena Tour 2002
- Go Your Own Way Arena Tour - UK and Asia 2004
- Dancing On Ice Tour 2008
Other notable concerts
- Mr Kyps in Bournemouth on 24 November 2011 with support boy band "ReConnected"
- Mansfield Party in the Park 2011- performed with acts such as "Myles and Connor" (originally from the boy band Connected) and many other acts.
- Dartford Festival headlining act 2011
- Private concert for the Prince of Brunei, January 2005
- MTV Asia AIDS Awareness Concert, Indonesia, December 2004
- Concert to open Louis VuittonLouis VuittonLouis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
's first store in Shanghai, China, October 2004 - Derby Christmas Lights switch on 2011
Awards
UK- The Record of the YearThe Record of the YearThe Record of the Year is an award voted by the UK public. For many years it was given in conjunction with television programmes of the same name...
2002: "Unchained Melody" - Smash Hits Awards 2002: best male, best hair, best newcomer, most fanciable male
- Smash Hits Awards 2003: best male, best single ("Sunshine")
- Young Achievers YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
2002 - Special award for service to Yorkshire 2002
- Giving Voice Celebrity Ambassador award. October 2011
Overseas
- MTV Asia: Best International Male 2003/2004
- MTV China: Best International Male 2003/2004
- MTV Taiwan: Best International Male 2003/2004
- TMF Belgium: Best International Pop
- MTV Taiwan: Inspiration to Youth
- G-Music (Taiwan): Best International Artist 2003
- Hit FM: Best single of 2003 (AOU)