Gareth Gates
Gareth Gates
Gareth Paul Gatesis an English singer-songwriter. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly. Gates used the McGuire Programme to manage the problem and is now a speech coach with the programme...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth12 July 1984
CityBradford, England
age chose felt whether
At the age of 13, I felt it was up to me to decide whether I wanted to go to church or be with my mates, and I chose to go to church.
life stammer
Speech and having a stammer is obviously a big part of my life.
bad centre good
I was always used to being centre stage - something that had its good and bad points.
wants
I always wanted to be with a woman who has the same mindset and wants to look after me like my mum.
finally freedom liberating speak
Finally having the freedom to speak is a really liberating feeling.
age girls last lots
The last thing I wanted was to be with someone who's the same age as me and wanted the limelight, wanted the attention. There's lots of girls out there who do.
positive technique
On the McGuire course, there's a technique called 'cancellation' where negative experiences are replaced with positive ones.
actual best business found music photo rather shoots
In the music business, I found it was much more about interviews, photo shoots and appearances rather than actual performing, which I do best.
I like to have quiet evenings and relax.
baggage emotional stammer uphill
Living with a stammer is difficult. It's a daily uphill struggle with emotional baggage weighing you down. You can't be the person you want to be.
life people remember saw stammer stand time worked
Before all this happened, I always used to see my stammer as being a negative, all my life, but then when I went on 'Pop Idol,' and the first time I saw it on television, it was really, really bad, but also it made me stand out; it made people remember me. So for the first time in my life, it worked to my advantage.
helped programme slow tackling teaches therapy
I'm part of a speech therapy programme called the McGuire Programme. It teaches you a new way to breathe, a new way to speak, a brand new way of tackling the mind-sets that come with having a speech impediment. Mainly, it teaches you how to slow things down, and that has really helped me.
great
I live for my daughter. Every decision I make is about her and for her. It's great. She's perfect.
music name speech until
My speech is really important to me, but the thing is at the moment it can't be more important than my singing. Until I'm an established name all over the world, my speech won't be more important than my music.