Don’t be surprised if you spot a famous, spray-tanned face if you’re out roaming the Arbroath cliffs or Angus glens this autumn.
Former Pop Idol star Gareth Gates is heading to the east coast for the first time with his new self-produced Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute show, which he’s bringing to Montrose Town Hall.
“I’ve found the further north you get with audiences, the more receptive they are,” says the 40-year-old singer, who was also the winner of the 2023 season of survival challenge show Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins.
“I’m always up for a party in Scotland, and it’ll be my first time coming to Montrose and the east coast, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
And as well as getting audiences “dancing in the aisles, guaranteed” with hits like Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Bye Bye Baby, keen hiker Gareth is determined to get out and about in the Angus glens and along the coast.
“Hiking was one of the things I really enjoyed which I’ve taken away from SAS,” he says, asking for my local tips with a flash of his brilliant white smile. I recommend the Arbroath sea cliffs and he notes it down, insisting: “I’m definitely going there.”
“Being in a jungle for two weeks without a phone, it was a lot of learning to be alone with your thoughts,” he muses. “And I learned that that’s actually a nice place to be.
“So now whenever I’m in a new country or visiting a city I’ve not been to before on tour, I have an app on my phone which shows me my nearest hikes, and I’ll go and do one.”
SAS challenges ‘not half as scary’ as bullies
When I speak to Gareth over Zoom, it’s clear how much his stint on the survival show, where he triumphed over former health secretary Matt Hancock, has impacted his confidence.
Known for his stutter, and his work to raise awareness of communication disabilities just as much as for his music career, he takes control of the conversation right away, gently but firmly informing me that he will be speaking slowly throughout the interview.
This is a far cry from the wee boy in Bradford who was relentlessly bullied for his speech impediment.
“I think the only reason I got through SAS was because of the hardship that I went through as a kid,” reflects Gareth. “I was badly bullied, and that made me very mentally resilient and strong.
“Whenever it got too hard in there, I could tap into that and tell myself none of it was half as scary as those bullies at school!”
Gareth grateful for ‘other half’ Alanna’s actions
Indeed, Gareth made headlines again this summer when he made a video about an incident which saw his partner (West End actress Allana Taylor) standing up to a crowd of women on a cruise ship who were “taking the mick” out of him within earshot.
“I take the mick out of myself, but to know that someone is doing that, and they know you’re able to hear them, that’s a bit next level,” he explains.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but fortunately my other half was there with me, and she marched over and had a word.
“And I’m actually really pleased that happened, because it prompted me to make that video on social media, which went viral.”
@gareth_gates STAND UP TO BULLYING. #standup #bekind #fyp #foryou #foryoupage p&o #garethgates #bullingneedstostop #raiseawareness
Even in 2024, some men may consider being defended by their girlfriend a bruise to the ego, but Gareth insists he “hasn’t got an alpha male bone in my body”.
“My mum always taught me to be a gentleman, and I’m a big softy at heart,” says Gareth.
“And I’m much more in touch with my feminine side because when I’d be bullied by boys at school, it was mum and my sisters who would comfort me.”
How Gareth became ‘cool daddy’
And it was actually him showing his sensitive side on TV which made Gareth’s 15-year-old daughter Missy see him as “cool daddy”.
“When I got back from SAS and it was airing, I warned her there were bits that would be hard to watch, where I was upset or crying at times,” he recalls with a chuckle.
“She was like: ‘You haven’t gone and cried on TV have you?’ But then when she watched it, she was like: ‘Actually, that was amazing.’ So I’m cool daddy now.”
It didn’t hurt that when Missy’s favourite musician, Olivia Rodrigo, was playing in London, “cool daddy” knew someone in the band and scored his daughter a meet and greet.
“That made her life!” smiles Gareth, who has rarely spoken about his child publicly.
He tells me that he spends every spare minute in Wiltshire, where Missy attends school. And where, in a twist of fate, his old Pop Idol rival Will Young recently bought a house.
Have the new neighbours met up for a karaoke rematch in the garden yet?
“Not yet!” Gareth laughs. “I texted him after I saw the news that he’d moved near one of my properties, because I thought it was probably Wiltshire, and it is.”
Gates family tradition inspired new show
Throughout our conversation, it becomes clear that two things are at the centre of Gareth’s world – family and music.
In fact, it was the Gates family tradition of Frankie Valli singalongs which inspired Gareth’s new show.
“I’m one of four siblings,” explains the singer.
“I’ve got three sisters, I’m the eldest. And we all really, really love music. Every party, we blast up the tunes, scream our lungs out and dance around like idiots.
“And my parents have always been big Frankie Valli fans, so as a child his music was pretty much drummed into me.
“I’ve toured for 22 years now and every time I do a set, I always put in a Frankie Valli song and it always goes down so well. So I decided to put this evening together with all these big hits in the same night.
“And I guarantee people will be up out of their seats by the end.”
New autobiographical project on horizon?
As well as self-producing the Frankie Valli show, Gareth has been working on an original musical theatre project “about a guy that can’t speak”, heavily influenced by his own life.
“It isn’t necessarily my life,” he clarifies, “but I’ve drawn upon the experiences I went through as a child. Having a speech impediment really shapes this character’s life, and as a result of him not being able to speak, something really tragic happens in his life.”
Excitingly for Gareth, it’s the first project he’s written in many years, and has allowed him to tap into his skills as a musician and composer, which allowed him to express himself as a child when speech failed him.
“I’ve always been able to write, and as a child I played several instruments. Then the whole Pop Idol thing came along and I didn’t get involved in the writing too much.
“From then, the songs were all sort of written for me.
So to go back and write something so personal to me felt amazing.”
“And it’s good, because the sorts of songs I’m working on can help to empower people.”
Gareth Gates sings Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Montrose Town Hall on October 13 2024, and will return to Courier Country to play Love Songs From The Movies at Perth Concert Hall on February 14 2025.
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