George Michael’s guitar from the video for his hit song Faith has sold for £234,000, following a family dispute over the auction.
The singer gave the instrument to his long-serving personal assistant, Siobhan Bailey. After her death in 2014, it was inherited by her estranged husband, Ian Belcher, who later put it up for auction.
Siobhan and Mr Belcher were in the process of divorcing when she died, her brother Gerard Bailey said. She had not made a legally registered will.
Mr Bailey told the BBC that 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”.
He said Siobhan had begun preparing a will shortly before her death and intended to leave the memorabilia to her nieces and nephews. However, the document was never registered.
The Gretsch Synchromatic 160 guitar, which came with its original case, had been valued at between £60,000 and £120,000.
It sold for a hammer price of £180,000. After the auctioneer’s fees were added, the UK-based buyer paid £234,480.
The auction also included several photographs signed for Siobhan, George Michael’s running order for Live Aid and an annotated itinerary from Wham!’s 1985 tour of China.
George Michael gave the guitar to his long-term personal assistant, Siobhan Bailey
Siobhan began working as Michael’s PA in 1984 and stayed in the role for 20 years
The guitar was given as “a gift” to his sister because Michael “thought so much of her”, Siobhan’s brother Gerard Bailey said
There has been no suggestion that Mr Belcher does not have the legal right to sell the items. However, Mr Bailey said that had his sister lived for only a few more weeks, the memorabilia would not have passed to Mr Belcher.
Calling it “disingenuous” for the sale to be promoted in Siobhan’s name, Mr Bailey said that, if the auction went ahead, it should have been conducted under Mr Belcher’s name.
He said Siobhan would have wanted the memorabilia to “have remained with her family and we would never have sold”, and accused Mr Belcher of deciding “12 years after my sister’s death to cash in”.
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Siobhan became Michael’s personal assistant in 1984 and remained with him for two decades.
Mr Bailey said: “I think she was one of the few people George trusted and whose opinion he valued.
“She was always honest and straight with him. I guess that’s why she stayed working for him for so long through the very, very good and not so good times.”
Michael gave her the guitar as “a gift” because he “thought so much of her”, Mr Bailey added.
The star played the Gretsch Synchromatic 160 in the video for the 1987 hit Faith, an album that went on to sell more than 25 million copies worldwide.
A number of photographs signed for Siobhan Bailey will also go under the hammer
An annotated itinerary from Wham!’s 1985 China tour, the first by a major Western pop act, which comes with a Chinese-language invitation to a welcome reception in Beijing
Presentation discs and gold records celebrating milestone sales are also part of the auction
George Michael concert tickets, passes and invitations
A Sworders spokesperson said after the sale: ‘This auction provided a unique insight into the working life of a music legend and attracted attention and adoration from around the globe.
‘The Gretsch Synchromatic guitar was the “jewel in the crown”, a fitting offering ahead of the 40th anniversary of the release of Faith and a chance to own a small piece of pop history.’
Mr Belcher declined to comment when approached by the BBC.
A spokesman for Sworders said: ‘We are not well placed to comment on a family matter, but such disputes are not uncommon in the auction business.
‘In this case, as the BBC article makes clear, the legal title of the collection is not in question.’