Ronan Keating has never shied away from showing his heart — but few moments have hit as deeply as hearing Robbie Williams’ emotional tribute to the late Stephen Gately.
In an intimate interview, Keating revealed that the first time he heard The Big Goodbye — a powerful ballad featured on his album Twenty Twenty and co-written and performed with Robbie Williams — he was completely overcome. “I couldn’t stop the tears,” Ronan shared. “They were just coming down my face.”
The song, written in memory of Ronan’s beloved Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately, who passed away suddenly in 2009 at just 33, captures the pain, love, and longing left behind by an untimely loss. Robbie, who himself had a close connection to the members of Boyzone from their ’90s boyband days, approached the track with profound empathy and grace.
“Robbie got it. He really got it,” said Ronan. “Stephen was so full of life, and hearing Robbie sing those words — it was like hearing someone understand your grief without having to explain it.”
The Big Goodbye is more than a duet — it’s a moment of healing. With tender vocals, poetic lyrics, and hauntingly beautiful instrumentation, it honours the light that Stephen brought to the world and the void his absence has left behind.
As fans continue to share their own stories of loss and connection to the song, The Big Goodbye has become more than a tribute — it’s a reminder that music can carry the weight of the words we can’t always say. And for Ronan Keating, it’s a way to hold Stephen close, one verse at a time.
