Tan Yng Jich | August 2000

If Robbie Williams "Rock DJ-ed" his way in Zouk on the 16 July, then you could say Stephen Gately did the same for Venom on Friday, 21 July. Performing in an exclusive showcase opened only to the media, invited guests, Venom club members as well as Boyzone fans, Stephen sang, danced and wooed his way to his fans as well as critics' hearts.

8.20pm
After enduring almost an hour of non-stop "We want Stephennnnnn!" and "We love youuuu Stephen!" with loads of screams added in for effect almost every few minutes, Perfect 10 DJ Rod Monteiro appeared on stage, not to start the concert, but rather to give away autographed CDs and posters. He asked five contestants to say Stephen's name as long as possible, which ignited a series of "Stephen Gateleeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" at soprano levels from them. Most scary pre-showcase moment!

8.50pm Finally, the showcase starts. Screams go up an octave and every single member of the 1,500 strong crowd gets excited as well. Stephen enters from the stairs clad in a dark orangy brown jacket with a pair of plain black pants and cream colored shoes. Launching into his first song for the showcase, "I Believe", Stephen looks adoringly cute and chirpy. Die-hard fans who had gotten their hands on his debut solo album, sings along with him.

"Where Do We Go From Here" has Stephen displaying some nifty (albeit Boyzone-ish) dance moves which of course comes accompanied with more screams from his fans. Taking a breather after that, Stephen promised, with his signature smile (which made almost every single fan of his swoon), that he would not take that long in coming to Singapore again. Then as the strains of "New Beginning" starts, the Irish singer launches into even more vigorous dance moves.

Just as everyone was beginning to feel hot with all the jostling and screaming around, Stephen upped the temperature gauge (and the screams) a little when he took off his jacket to reveal a black tee underneath it. Singing "If Only You Were Here", the song that Stephen wrote for his partner Eloy, it was apparent that he was appreciative of the way his fans were supporting him. Halfway through the song, he stepped down for a brief moment and shook hands with a couple of the fans in front, almost resulting in a stampede with everyone attempting to rush to the front. The bouncers at Venom were very quick on their feet, pushing the crowd back, preventing the thin elastic barrier (which was the only thing that separated singer from fans) from breaking.

Stephen reassures fans that even though the Boyzone members have a solo singing or hosting career, they will not break up. He then performed his last song for the night, "Stay". As an encore, this blue-eyed cutie then invited his fans to sing, a cappella, the chorus for "New Beginning" with him. It was almost touching to see everyone singing loud and clear.

9.08pm
"Goodbye and God Bless" and before you knew it, Stephen’s showcase had come to an end. I left the venue, a little deaf, but with the knowledge that nothing will come between Stephen’s fans and him. Not even Eloy!