Boy bands and gayness have kind of gone hand-in-hand for years now. Stephen Gately bravely came out during the height of Boyzone’s fame, and Mark Feehily from Westlife did the same. Lance Bass from *N Sync…the list goes on.

So, it’s actually quite refreshing to see that Boyzone are leading the pack again when Stephen Gately is paired with a guy in their forthcoming video for Better. The other guys from the band are seen singing to girls, but Stephen’s partner, fittingly, is a man.

Initially, I was tempted to write this off as an attention-seeking move – you know, something controversial to generate headlines.

However, having watched the video, it’s not a stunt. It’s simply stated as a fact, nothing over the top when you compare it with the full-on gay kiss in Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful video. I actually admire the maturity and matter-of-factness which Boyzone have employed in the video.

I remember commenting recently on the fuss about Lindsay Lohan hooking up Samantha Ronson that it was amazing the press still thought a romance between two women was newsworthy. It’s not, it’s simply a fact of life, but we don’t see gay relationships portrayed in a normal way in popular culture, which still makes them taboo.

And I mention the Christina Aguilera video because it’s highly sexual whereas the Boyzone one is tender and mature and actually made me smile for a moment. Nice work, guys. I applaud you.