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A dispute within the family has emerged surrounding an upcoming auction featuring memorabilia related to George Michael, scheduled for Thursday. Among the items being auctioned by the Sworders auction house is the guitar used by the singer-songwriter in the iconic “Faith” music video. These pieces come from the collection of Siobhan Bailey, who was George Michael’s personal assistant for many years.
Siobhan Bailey passed away in 2014, and the auction is being managed by Ian Belcher, her estranged husband who inherited her belongings after her death. Her brother, Gerard Bailey, expressed strong opposition to the auction, telling the BBC that Siobhan “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.” Neither Sworders nor Ian Belcher have offered comments on the matter. Sworders has described the 32 lots as a “remarkable group of memorabilia from the collection of Siobhan Bailey, George Michael’s long-time personal assistant and trusted confidante.”
Siobhan Bailey had been in the process of divorcing Ian Belcher at the time of her death, although the legal marriage remained intact, and she did not leave a will. Gerard Bailey stated that his sister had begun drafting a will shortly before she died, which would have bequeathed the items to her nieces and nephews, but this document was never officially registered. Legally, since no will was in place, the estate passed to Belcher. Gerard stressed that had Siobhan survived a few more weeks, the inheritance would have bypassed Belcher as next of kin. In correspondence with the auction house, he described the auction as a “breach of [Siobhan’s] privacy” and criticized the use of her name as “disingenuous” and “wholly unethical.” He further condemned Belcher’s “misuse of my sister’s name” as “frankly dishonourable” and called the profiteering from the items “egregiously shameful.” Gerard has requested either that the auction be cancelled or, if it proceeds, that it be conducted solely in Ian Belcher’s name instead of Siobhan’s.
Siobhan began working as George Michael’s personal assistant in 1984, coinciding with the year Wham! achieved their first number one hit with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” She remained in this role for two decades, managing much of Michael’s privacy and deflecting tabloid intrusion, according to her brother. Gerard highlighted her significance in Michael’s life, saying, “I think she was one of the few people George trusted and whose opinion he valued.” He added, “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.”
The guitar up for auction was reportedly a gift from George Michael to Siobhan, as he “thought so much of her,” according to Gerard. This instrument played a significant part in Michael’s transformation from teen pop idol to respected solo artist. In the 1987 “Faith” music video, Michael is famously seen playing this vintage acoustic guitar, which he had acquired shortly before filming at a Los Angeles music shop. Guitarist magazine has referred to it as “arguably the most famous Gretsch Synchromatic in the world.” The guitar’s estimated auction value ranges between £60,000 and £120,000. Other items in the sale have already surpassed their estimated prices; for example, a Filofax from the 1988 Faith tour containing Siobhan’s handwritten notes had a guide price of up to £600 but has attracted bids over £1,750. The auction also features a note signed “with love and admiration” from George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, a signed Wham! photograph addressed to Siobhan, and an invitation to Ridgeley’s 21st birthday. Alongside these are gold and platinum discs awarded to her for Michael’s sales achievements. Gerard said she was proud of these honours though modest about them, and insisted that she “would never have consented” to selling these personal items. He described the auction as heartbreaking and “tawdry,” contrary to how Siobhan would have wanted.
Siobhan died suddenly and unexpectedly from natural causes at the age of 56. Her brother affirmed that she had wished for her possessions to remain within the family and never to be sold. He strongly accused Ian Belcher of “deciding 12 years after my sister’s death to cash in.” While acknowledging that Belcher has the legal right to sell the collection, Gerard criticized the promotion of the sale under Siobhan’s name as misleading and unethical
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