Gareth Gates
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Gareth Paul Gates (born July 12, 1984, Bradford) is a British pop singer who shot to fame in 2002 when he came second in the television talent show Pop Idol.
Despite not winning the competition, he was soon signed up with Simon Cowell's record label BMG, alongside the Pop Idol winner, Will Young. (Cowell had been one of the Pop Idol judges, and had been notorious for his harsh criticisms of many of the contestants.) His first single, a cover of Unchained Melody, entered the UK Top 40 at number one, knocking Will Young's first single - the double A-sided "Evergreen"/"Anything is Possible" - off the top of the chart (as Young's single was intended for the winner of Pop Idol Gates also recorded versions of both songs, which were used as B-sides for Unchained Melody). The single was voted 2002's Record of the Year by ITV viewers.
With the The Kumars, Gates sang the 2003 Comic Relief charity single, "Spirit In The Sky", another cover of an old song. This was also a new entry at number one, and stayed there for two weeks.
Gates also suffers from a severe stammer, one that both mars his speech, makes him use prerecorded dialogue when speaking to the audience at a concert, and which also turned out to be his biggest vote-winner during the contest. [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1800138.stm)
Also in 2003, Gates came sixth in the Channel 4 poll of the 100 Worst Britons.
External links
- Gareth Gates website (http://www.ggates.co.uk/)
- "Chart battle for Pop Idol finalists (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1878256.stm)" - BBC News article, dated Monday, March 18, 2002
- "Pop Idol's Gareth is number one (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1891053.stm)" - BBC News article, dated Sunday, March 24, 2002