Stephen Gately, a singer with the Irish boy band Boyzone who made headlines when he came out as gay a decade ago, has died while on vacation in Spain. He was 33-years-old.

Gately, who caused a sensation when he came out ten years ago, wed Andrew Cowles in 2003. They had a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas and a more formal civil partnership ceremony in London in March 2006.

The Irish boyband star “tragically died” on Saturday after a night out with his husband while on holiday in Majorca – never waking up after going to bed. Spanish police are trying to locate a man who was at Stephen Gately’s apartment on the night the Boyzone star mysteriously died. Gately and partner Andy Cowles had invited a Bulgarian named Giorgio back to their $1.5million Majorcan vacation home after meeting at the Black Cat nightclub on Friday night. They are believed to have left at about 4.30am. It is not known if Giorgio left Gately’s flat before or after he was found dead.

The 33-year-old singer is understood to have fallen asleep on the sofa but is thought to have died after choking on his own vomit following a drinking session.

A police source said: ‘We do not think this man is involved in any way in Stephen’s death but his testimony could prove vital.  There were no signs of violence or evidence of suicide or any obvious evidence pointing to another probable cause of death such as the use of drugs.’

Gately was discovered at 1.45pm on Saturday in the apartment in the exclusive resort of Port Andratx in south west Majorca. After finding Gately unconscious, Cowles made a desperate attempt to revive him by administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but Gately had drowned from the fluid on his lungs. Friends said Cowles was in a terrible state and told them: ‘I can’t believe he’s gone.’

One investigator said: ‘He was in a strange position. He was found squatting down on the sofa almost in a praying position.’ A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out tomorrow because it is a public holiday in Spain today.

Boyzone members Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch said they were “completely devastated by the loss of our friend and brother, Stephen. At present we don’t have too many details,” the statement said. Members of the group arrived at Palma de Mallorca international airport on Sunday afternoon.

“We have shared such wonderful times together over the years and were all looking forward to sharing many more. Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. He lit up our lives and those of the many friends he had all over the world. Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen’s family. We love you and will miss you forever, ‘Steo’,” their statement said.

The cause of death was not immediately clear. Gerald Kean, a Gately family friend in Ireland, said yesterday the singer died of natural causes, without identifying them. “There’s no foul play involved, and it’s not suicide. It’s just a tragic accident is what we’ve been told, and we’re happy that that is correct information,” Kean said. “There is nothing untoward. It’s not drugs, we don’t believe. It’s not suicide. It’s not murder. It’s not a fight. That’s what we’ve been told.”

Spanish police said they were called to a house near Port d’Andratx on the western tip of the island on Saturday afternoon. The cause of death was unknown and there were no signs of violence, a police spokesman said, on condition of anonymity in keeping with police rules. The house, situated on an exclusive tree-lined seafront street, overlooks a rocky bay reputed to have some of the best sunset views on Spain’s favorite holiday island.

Boyzone was a U.K. hitmaker in the 1990s and announced a comeback tour at the end of last year. Boyzone sold millions of records and topped the British charts with six No. 1 singles during the 1990s, including “All That I Need” and a cover of the Bee Gees’ “Words.” The group was formed in 1993 by impresario Louis Walsh, who placed an ad in the press announcing auditions for Ireland’s first boy band. Among the unsuccessful hopefuls was actor Colin Farrell.

Gately hid his homosexuality from the heartthrob group’s millions of adoring fans and went to incredible lengths to keep his homosexuality a secret for fear it would alienate the group’s largely female audience. The charade was finally exposed, however, in June 1999 when a bodyguard working for the group on their European tour approached a tabloid newspaper with the true story of Gately’s sexuality.

When he finally come out in a blaze of publicity ten years ago, it coincided with him becoming hooked on drugs to deal with acute depression so severe he became a virtual recluse who confided to friends his suicidal thoughts.

In his final message on the social networking site Twitter, Gately posted a message on October 6 that said: ‘Still busy – lots going on. Focusing on finishing my book next so may be quiet here.’