George Michael’s Faith guitar fetches £234,480 amid family dispute over auction
Developing story first seen 1 hour ago
George Michael’s Faith guitar has sold at auction for £234,480 including fees, despite a family dispute over the sale. Bailey’s brother said she would have wanted the memorabilia to remain with her family and objected to the auction being promoted in her name.
Michael gave the Gretsch guitar to his personal assistant Siobhan Bailey, who worked for him for 20 years from 1984. She died in 2014 while divorcing Ian Belcher, who inherited the items because she had no registered will; the guitar, estimated at £60,000 to £120,000, fetched a £180,000 hammer price. Other lots included signed photographs, Michael’s Live Aid running order and an annotated itinerary from Wham!’s 1985 China tour; the auction house said legal ownership was not in question.
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In short
- George Michael’s Faith guitar sold for £234,480 including fees.
- His former assistant’s brother objected to the auction.
- The sale also included photographs and Wham! memorabilia.
How this story developed
- 3 minutes ago Bailey’s brother said she had started preparing a will to leave the collection to her nieces and nephews, but it was never registered before her death in 2014.
- 12 minutes ago George Michael’s Faith guitar sold for £234,480 including fees despite objections from Siobhan Bailey’s family, who said she would have wanted the memorabilia to stay with them.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The auction can be defended on the basis that the guitar was legally owned by Bailey’s husband, and the auction house said its ownership was not in question. Selling it also made a piece of music history available to a buyer and the public, while bringing a substantial sum from an item whose value had risen far above its estimate.
The case against
Bailey’s family can reasonably argue that the sale conflicts with her apparent wishes: she was reportedly preparing a will to leave the memorabilia to her nieces and nephews while separating from her husband. Although that will was never registered, selling the guitar without honouring what the family understood to be her intentions may feel unfair and deprive them of an object with personal as well as historical significance.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “George Michael’s Faith guitar sells for £234,000 after his personal assistant’s estranged husband put it up for auction following her death”.