GEORGE MICHAEL'S FAITH GUITAR FETCHES £234,000 AT AUCTION

A guitar used in George Michael’s Faith music video sold for £234,000 after Ian Belcher offered it for auction. Sworders sold the instrument as part of a collection belonging to Siobhan Bailey, Michael’s former personal assistant. Bailey’s brother, Gerard, objected to the sale of her possessions. He said his sister “would be horrified at the prospect of the auction being held in her name and that her personal, cherished possessions are being sold off to the highest bidder”.

Siobhan Bailey died in 2014 while she was in the process of divorcing Belcher. They remained legally married when she died, and she left no will, so the collection passed to him. Gerard Bailey acknowledged that Belcher had the right to sell the items. He said his sister had been drafting a will that would have left them to her nieces and nephews.

In a letter to Sworders, Gerard Bailey called the auction a “breach of his sister’s privacy”. He also called the use of her name in the sale “disingenuous”. He asked Sworders to stop the sale or list the items in Belcher’s name. A Sworders spokesperson said: “We are not well placed to comment on a family matter, but such disputes are not uncommon in the auction business.”