BBC star Gary Phelan who rose to prominence on Fame Academy has died at the age of 42, as tributes pour in.
Gary, from Cramlington, Newcastle, featured in the second series of the corporation’s talent show where the hopefuls bid to impress headmaster Richard Park and judges Robin Gibb and David and Carrie Grant.
Gary was one of those that made it into the house, including the eventual winner Alex Parks.
In the show, Gary was saved by his fellow students and then twice by the show’s fans, who performed covers of classic songs like Summer in the City, before being the fourth student to be sent home.
Alex went on to win in the final that season, coming up against Alistair Griffin and Carolyn Goode.
Gary continued with his music career following his appearance on Fame Academy and toured the country as well as writing and recording music.
More recently he had moved to Dubai where he was a popular attraction on the pub and bar circuit in the UAE.
Gary spoke to the BBC about his time on the talent show in 2014.
Speaking about his favourite moments he said: “I think all the songwriting, working with John McLaughlin who I’m going to be writing with again in the future.
“And when I did ‘You’re Gorgeous’ – That was pretty cool, I was confident on stage. It was a good laugh.”
He said his favourite performance had been ‘Faith’ but added: “I wasn’t entirely confident with the song as I had just learnt it.”
Speaking about his time in the house, he recollected the time he managed to split Paris’ trousers, saying: “Yeah, I was getting my a**e completely whooped and then his trousers split – so there you go, I’ll have some of that.”
His death last month was confirmed by several friends on social media.
One tribute on Facebook said: “We had some wonderful times together in our twenties.
“I played bass for him for five 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.”
Simon Hanning, who managed Gary, took to Facebook to share a series of photos and videos, saying: “I am beyond devastated and can’t as yet put into words how this news has left his family and friends feeling.
“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.”
