Stephen Gately, in ‘Technicolor’

By Eileen Murphy

Proving that there is life after Boyzone, former pop warbler Stephen Gately is set to star in a British revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice classic, “Joseph and the Amazing technicolor Dreamcoat.” The pop-eretta, based on the biblical story of Joseph and his famously callous brothers, should suit Gately to a T, since his goody-goody image echoes that of previous Josephs — most notably, icky, squeaky-clean Donny Osmond.

The show opens this winter in Liverpool, but could transfer to the West End next spring. But any former Boyzone fans hoping to catch Gately’s performance had better get the lead out. He’ll only be in the show for four weeks, so, as they sing in the show, if you’re going, go, go, go, GO!

In more alumni news, we hear that Mikey Graham — the oldest of the boyz — recently turned 30 and is hoping that the coming year will be significantly better than the last one.

Mikey — who was always considered the nice, quiet, levelheaded member of the band — has weathered a run of bad luck which included almost going broke getting his walking papers from his longtime girlfriend. But things are looking up for Graham — in his professional life, anyway. He’s got a new agent, is back to writing songs, and landed a role in a Guy Ritchie-type movie.

For those of you who are interested in his personal life, all we can say is, the guy’s still carrying a torch for his ex-sweetie.

“It’s weird to be single again and back out there [dating],” said Graham.

“I’m still hoping we might get back together as we are still great friends and still in contact all the time,” he continued. “But I guess only time will tell.” Hmmm . . . would it be rude to take this opportunity to quote from the Boyzone song catalog? (Actually, who cares?) We say, she should love him for a reason. And let the reason be luvvvv.

Good heavens, we deserve a better ‘Best’

The 10 years between 1990 and 2000 were not particularly productive ones for U2. Sure, they released one brilliant album — 1991’s “Achtung Baby” and one pretty good album — 1993’s “Zooropa.” But the last decade of the 20th century also saw them hit the rocks with the dismal “Pop” and the arty, ambient meanderings on “Passengers.” Their comeback album, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” barely makes the cutoff, with its October, 2000 release date, though the CD didn’t really get serious radio play until the following year.

When it came time to deliver the second of the three “Best of” albums required in their $50 million record contract, the band needed to come up with a variety of tracks to reflect the state of their career. The resulting tracklist is a mixed bag, with great numbers rubbing up against the mediocre. But judge for yourself:

“Even Better Than the Real Thing”

“Mysterious Ways”

“Beautiful Day”

“Electrical Storm” (William Orbit Mix)

“One”

“Miss Sarajevo”

“Stay (Faraway So Close)”

“Stuck in a Moment (You Can’t Get Out of)”

“Gone”

“Until The End of the World”

“The Hands That Built America”

“DiscothFque”

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me”

“Staring at the Sun”

“Numb”

“The First Time”

“The Fly”

For a limited time, the CD package will include a second disc of B sides and rarities. Rabid fans, who’ve bought the CD singles over the years, will be familiar with most of these, but it will be nice to have them all in one place:

“Lady With the Spinning Head” (Extended Dance Mix)

“Dirty Day” (Junk Day Mix)

“Electrical Storm”

“Summer Rain”

“North & South of the River”

“Your Blue Room”

“Happiness is a Warm Gun” (The Gun Mix)

“Salome” (Zooromancer Mix)

“Even Better Than the Real Thing” (Perfecto Mix)

“Numb” (Give Me Some More Dignity Mix)

“Mysterious Ways” (Solar Plexus Club Mix)

“If God Will Send His Angels” (Big Yam Mix)

“Lemon” (Jeep Mix)

“DiscothFque” (Hexidecimal Mix)

The album will hit stores on Nov. 4.

Filmmaker sees distant Oasis

First the Osbournes exposed their %^*(#@$ family life on MTV. Then Anna Nicole Smith slurred her way to infamy on E! Now, we hear that those bashful Oasis boys, Noel and Liam Gallagher, are ready for their closeup. After all, when it comes to swearing, these kids make Ozzy and Co. sound like Barney the Dinosaur. And we’re sure they could drink former Guess? model Anna Nicole under the table. (Make that, further under the table.)

The rockers will be the subject of what’s being described as a “rock and roll odyssey” by British director John Dowe. We can only hope that Dowe keeps them under constant surveilance — given their volatile dispositions, he could wind up with both a rockumentary and a fight film.

In more Oasis news, we hear that the band’s original drummer, Tony McCarroll, is getting ready to write a tell-all book about his experiences with the touchy twosome.

McCarroll, who was bounced from the lineup about 10 minutes into the recoding sessions for Oasis’s breakthrough hit, “What’s the Story [Morning Glory]” says he’s got plenty of dirt on the battling brothers. For instance, fans will be shocked to learn that the boys lived a rock and roll lifestyle (oooooooh). And they argued a lot (aaaaaaah). And that, between them, they have one continuous eyebrow (somebody call Ripley’s!).

The official story about McCarroll is that he was dismissed from the band after he got into a fistfight with big bruv Noel, but he insists that it’s a load of b***ix. We’d have to agree — fisticuffs would never get someone bounced from Oasis. Heck, it would probably get him adopted by the Gallagher family.

Rockers stiff the staff

We suppose that when you reach a certain level of fame, it’s easy to start believing all of that “rock royalty” crap that gets thrown around by the likes of OK! and Hello! This theory was put to the test recently at the all-star wedding of Caroline Corr, which took place at swanky Spanish resort owned by Virgin chairman Richard Branson. London’s Mirror newspaper reports that the while the cream of the Irish rock scene partied the night away, not one of the multimillionaire guests left so much as a peseta (or is that euro) for the hardworking staff. Presumably, royalty (of any stripe) declines to carry anything as grubby as money.

The staff at the five-star La Residencia Hotel were reportedly kept hopping all evening, as the new Mr. and Mrs. Frank Woods celebrated their hitchin’. The waiters pampering guests with drinks and fancy nibbles as they partied until the wee hours. So when the evening was over, the working stiffs expected to find a little something extra in their pay packet, besides gracias and hasta luego.

A hotel insider revealed: “Staff were rubbing their hands at the thought of a nice tip from some of the richest stars in music. They had a really tough night and, needless to say, with so many big names around they were expected to be on the ball all night.”

Given the level of service and the number of staff, the usual gratuity is in the area of _780 ($1,220). But with such stellar names on the guest list — including Bono, The Edge and racing ace Eddie Jordan — the staff assumed that the tips would be equally stellar. But, unfortunately, they forgot how rich people stay rich: they don’t throw their cash around.

Sniffed the source, “Some of the exhausted waiters couldn’t believe it after their night of serving the stars.”

For its part, the hotel management says that tipping is not compulsory, and that they don’t include a service charge on the bill.

“It is up to guests if they want to leave a gratuity or not,” said a spokesperson. Obviously, nobody asked the staff.

Samantha and Mark sittin’ in a tree . . .

Nyah, nyah! Or, more appropriately, “Gotcha!”

We refer, of course, to lovely Samantha Mumba and her equally lovely boyfriend (at what age does he become her “partner”?) Mark Henderson. The lovebirds, who are never photographed in the same zip code, were caught on film standing within spittin’ distance of each other after a recent concert in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. And in a slow news week like this one, that’s almost a stop-the-presses event.

Sam’s forced estrangement from her beau was mandated by her management. Though they have nothing against the one-time boy band singer, they’re desperate to generate buzz for Samantha by having her linked with other prominent names. In gossipland, Sam has been paired with guys like potty-mouthed rapper Eminem and J-Lo’s ex, Chris Judd. The latter appears in Sam’s new video, in which she gets to hose him down with water. Hey, whatever floats yer boat.

Everything old is new again

Trust Sinead O’Connor to go where many have gone before and find something new to say about it. The iconoclastic Irish singer, who has spent the past few years wearing a priest’s collar and ministering to wayward rock stars (Shane MacGowan comes to mind) will release her first album since 1999’s haunting “Gospel Oak.” This time, Sinead is delving back into her Irish folk roots and dusting off a number of well-loved songs.

Included on the album, which hits stores on Oct. 7, are favorites like “Peggy Gordon,” “+r= ST Do Bheatha ‘Bhaile,” “The Parting Glass,” and “I’ll Tell Me Ma.” The legendary Christy Moore guests on “Lord Baker.” The album will be called “Sean Nos Nua” — literally, “old style” and “new.”

There are rumors that Sinead will tour stateside this fall, a rare treat for her legions of fans. We’ll keep you posted, since, as everyone knows, nothing compares 2 Sinead.

Pierce does the ‘Dirty’

Irish singer/songwriter Pierce Turner received a major break recently, when his recording of “Dirty Old Town” beat out the Pogues’ classic for a spot on an HBO soundtrack.

The song will be featured on a new cop-themed series, “The Wire.” If the show takes off like other HBO productions (“Sex and the City,” “Six Feet Under” and “Oz”) Turner could be sitting pretty.

The singer admits he’s still amazed at his luck.

“To get a song on an HBO show is a fantastic break for me,” he told the Sunday World.

“Particularly since my version of the song was up against Shane MacGowan’s.”