This is Gareth Gates
By Carol, 28th Jul 2010 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutCelebritiesMusic
Things you may not know about this reality star, who has reinvented himself from Pop Idol to Musical Theatre star, and proved how versatile he is.
This is Gareth Gates.
Gareth Gates first came into prominence in the first series of Pop Idol in 2001. Although he was the runner-up, Simon Cowell decided to give him a record deal with BMG, which lasted until 2006, during which time he sold over 3.5 million records in the UK alone.
He was born on 12th July 1984, eldest child of Paul and Wendy Gates. He suffered from a severe stutter, but found that when singing, it disappeared. This encouraged him to make music a big part of his life, as well as singing , he used to write songs to express what he couldn’t say. He became a choir boy at Bradford Cathedral at the age of nine, and had become chief chorister by the age of eleven. He also performed a solo to the Queen in 1997.
He achieved Grade V111 in piano, classical guitar, and singing, and was offered a place at the Royal Northern College of Music, which he had to turn down to enter Pop Idol.
His first single release was Unchained Melody, which topped the charts, then went double platinum, and was voted 2002’s Record of the Year in 2002. This was followed by 3 more no1 hits in a year period, which set a new record, which had stood since Frank Ifield in 1965. He also entered the Guinness Book of Records in that year, as the youngest ever male singer to achieve a solo no1. In March 2003 he appeared on Comic Relief, and sang the charity single for that year ( Spirit in the Sky), which topped the charts for two weeks ) and he was later nominated for a Brit Award for best single.
He has also achieved massive success in Asia, and won many awards during his Pop Career. He has managed to use his celebrity status to raise awareness of stammering , not only by successfully completing the McGuire Course , which teaches a new way of breathing , but also has gone on to qualify as an instructor and help other people like himself.
He has released 3 albums, the first being What My Heart wants to Say, in 2002, Go Your Own Way in 2004, and his most recent album, Pictures of the Other Side, in which he co-wrote most of the songs, released in 2007. The latter album being released through Universal as his contract with BMG had ended in 2006.
In 2008 , he appeared as a celebrity contestant on Dancing on Ice, with Maria Filippov, and reached the semi final. He then joined the nationwide tour over a few months period.
He married Suzanne Mole, his long term partner, who is a dancer, in July 2008, and they have a daughter named Missy, who was born on 6th April 2009
In July of the same year, he did a Charity performance in A spoonful of Stiles and Drew, and later that same year saw him play the part of Prince Charming in Cinderella at the Wimbledon Theatre. This was followed by his move into Musical Theatre, starring as Joseph, in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream coat, for a period of a few months at the Adelphi theatre.
Another charity performance followed in October 2009 when he sang songs from Miss Saigon in the show Broadway to West End. Apart from performing for charity, he has also been on the show Don’t forget the Lyrics, winning £20, 000 , All Star Family Fortuneswith his wife and family, where they won £30, 000 for the Bobby Moore bowel cancer charity, and with his wife Suzanne, Mr and Mrs, where they won another £20,000 for this charity.
In Dec 2009 he joined the 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Miserables in the role of Marius. This is currently touring the UK, including venues in Scotland and Paris.
LIST OF AWARDS.UK
The Record of the Year 2002, Unchained Melody
Smash Hits Award 2002, best male. best hair, best newcomer, most fanciable male
Smash Hits Award 2003, best male, best single,( Sunshine)
Young Achievers Yorkshire 2002
Special Award for services to Yorkshire 2002
OUT magazine awards 2003, best singer, best video, ( Sunshine) best performance as G-A-Y
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 ( Any one of us)
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