A BBC star has died aged 42.
Newcastle singer Gary Phelan, who shot to fame on Fame Academy in 2003, has passed away more than two decades after appearing on the BBC talent show. His death last month was confirmed by his manager Simon Hanning and several friends on social media.
Simon shared his heartbreak at losing Gary in a tribute on Facebook. The emotional statement read: “I am beyond devastated and can’t as yet put into words how this news has left his family and friends feeling.
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“He was loved by so many people, and I am already missing our chats, his sending me his latest song he’d written and the general banter we had. We did some amazing things together, he was everything you would ask of a friend. I’m truly heart broken.”
(Image: BBC)
Another tribute read: “We had some wonderful times together in our twenties. I played bass for him for 5 years, he took me on a journey touring the UK and recording in top studios.
“We partied, we played and we worked our a~**~es off. Gary opened up the world for me musically and professionally and we shared some once in a life time moments together – i’ll always be grateful.”
Gary appeared in the second series of Fame Academy, where talented youngsters competed to impress headmaster Richard Park and judges David and Carrie Grant and Robin Gibb. He made it into the house and performed covers of hits like Summer in the City.
He was the fourth student to be sent home, but was clearly popular given he was saved by his fellow students and twice by fans of the show. Alex Park went on to win the show.
Gary continued to pursue music after the programme, touring the country and writing and recording music. He’d performed at venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, 100 Club, Hammersmith Palais, Koko, and IndigO2.
He recently moved to Dubai, where he played regular gigs at venues like McCafferty’s Irish Pub. Gary also posted videos of his music on his YouTube channel, Soundcloud and Facebook.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
