Ronan Keating was reduced to tears the first time he heard the song Robbie Williams wrote about his late Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately.
The late Words singer sadly passed away in 2009 from an undetected heart condition and, 10 years after the tragic incident, Robbie reached out to Ronan, who released his new album Twenty Twenty on Friday, to share a song, The Big Goodbye, he’d penned in Stephen’s honour.
Speaking on Sunday Brunch, Ronan recalled: “Last October was Stephen Gately’s 10-year anniversary and the boys and I were out celebrating Stephen’s life and honouring him.
“I got home that night and there was an email from Rob saying, ‘I’ve seen you boys on the telly and I forgot that I wrote this song 10 years ago about Steo and I put it away’,” he explained.
“I’m standing in the kitchen with tears coming down my face listening to this song.”
Ronan decided they “had to do something” with the song, and it now appears as a duet with the Take That star on the new album.
“That song is on the album and it’s amazing. I find it hard to even listen to it. It’s a very special song,” Ronan added.
Twenty Twenty also features Forever and Ever, Amen, a duet with country pop icon Shania Twain.
