Stephen Gately's manager 'shattered'

Oct 14, 2009, 9:31 GMT

Stephen Gately's "shattered" manager says he has lost his "best friend".

Music mogul Louis Walsh spoke for the first time about the death of the "amazing" Boyzone star - who passed away at his holiday home in Majorca, Spain, on Saturday (10.10.09) - and admits he is unsure how he will get over the tragedy.

Louis - who is a judge on UK TV talent show 'The X Factor' alongside Simon Cowell - said: "I have lost my best friend. He didn't change. He would do anything for his fans and he was the glue in Boyzone that kept them all together.

"He thanked me all the time. He was the only one who thanked me properly. He was just amazing fun, honest, relaxing and so good natured.

"I am completely broken. I just can't get my head around it and don't know how I'll get over it. I've just been walking around in a daze. I'm still in shock."

Louis - who has known Stephen since 1993 - was closer to Stephen than any of the other acts he managed and the pair used to speak every two days.

He added to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "We had some incredible nights out together. We'd always go somewhere fabulous and gossip, have fun, fall around being silly. We were always having a laugh, always.

"Stephen would send me funny texts. He was like a child - he wanted to be loved."

Louis - who has received over 100 messages of support from stars including David Beckham, Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams and Sir Elton John - revealed the rest of Boyzone, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch, Ronan Keating and Keith Duffy are "devastated" by the tragedy.

He added: "They are all just devastated. Shane was his favourite. He loved them all but had a special place in his heart for Shane."

Mikey is the first member of the band to speak publicly about the tragedy.

He posted on his Twitter page: "We have just lost our brother and friend. Our hearts are broken and our minds confused. Please bear with us."

A post-mortem examination on Stephen's body revealed the 33-year-old star died of a pulmonary oedema, a condition which causes fluid on the lungs.

A private family wake is set to take place on Friday (16.10.09) ahead of a funeral in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday (17.10.09).