GARETH GATESOlivia Mason

WHEN AND HOW DID GARETH GATES CAREER BEGIN?

He was the runner up of the ITV program Pop idol and he sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He was signed with the label of Sony Music Entertainment from 2002-2008 then RCA records from 2010 onwards. In 2009 he moved into musical theatre playing the title role in the west end production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre, then he completed 18 months as Marius in West end production of Les Miserable, then Loser Ville, Legally Blonde and Boogie nights the musical

WHAT SONGS DID HE SING ON POP IDOL AND HIS MOST POPULAR SONGS?

In his audition he sang “Flying without wings” by Westlife and his first single was his cover of “Unchained melody” which entered the UK singles chart at number 1. The single went double-platinum and was voted 2002’s record of the year. This was followed by his next 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.

WHAT CHARITABLE WORK HAS HE DONE? Since he had a speech pediment which he managed to control

he 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.

Gareth had his own TV show called “Stammer House”/”Stop my Stutter”

He spoke to MPs as part of a briefing on a communication disability hosted by Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

He is a patron of the HIV/AIDS charity Body and Soul and of the Bobby Moore Fun which supports research into bowel cancer.

AWARDS GARETH HAS WON IN THE UK The Record of the Year 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 Yorkshire 2002

Special award for service to Yorkshire 2002

Giving Voice Celebrity Ambassador award. October 2011

AWARDS HE WON 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)

IMAGES OF GARETH GATES