The pop and the glory

Boy band legends Boyzone brought faith centre stage when thousands of fans joined them in saying the Lord’s Prayer at London’s Emirates Stadium.

The moving moment came during the Irish group’s Two For The Road farewell concerts in June – their first performances together since 2019.

Under dramatic red lights, Shane Lynch led the packed stadium in prayer during an emotional tribute to former bandmate Stephen Gately, who died in Majorca in 2009, aged just 33.

Fans had been invited to submit the names of loved ones they had lost, which were displayed on a giant screen.

One concertgoer called the prayer a “special moment”, adding: “At the end of the song, we were led in the Lord’s Prayer – it was really lovely.”

Lynch has long been vocal about his Christian faith: “In 2003 I turned to Christianity as I needed a way out of what I was doing. Being a born-again Christian and turning to Jesus saved my life. I don’t think I would be on this earth if I hadn’t turned to God.

“I had all the money I could want, but you can’t buy God. You have to build that relationship.

I served that ball up to him, and he hit it back to me with full force.

“I got baptised. I’m happiest when I’m with my wife, or being in church. I go to a big, charismatic, uplifting church.”

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