George Michael’s Faith guitar leads auction at centre of family dispute

George Michael’s Faith guitar and other personal items are being auctioned in a sale that has prompted a dispute between the late singer’s former assistant’s family and her estranged husband, who inherited the collection.

The 32 lots, offered by auction house Sworders, come from the collection of Siobhan Bailey, who worked as Michael’s personal assistant for 20 years. She died in 2014, while still legally married to Ian Belcher, and left no will. Her estate passed to him.

Bailey’s brother, Gerard, told the BBC that his sister would have been horrified by the sale. He said she had begun preparing a will shortly before her death, intending to leave the items to her nieces and nephews, but it was never registered. He has asked for the auction to be stopped or for it to be held in Belcher’s name instead.

The BBC reports there is no suggestion that Belcher lacks the legal right to sell the items. Sworders and Belcher declined to comment.

The best-known lot is the Gretsch guitar Michael played in the video for his 1987 hit “Faith”. It is estimated to fetch between £60,000 and £120,000. The collection also includes signed photographs, awards, a note from Michael and Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley, and Bailey’s annotated Filofax from the Faith tour. Its guide price was up to £600, but bidding had reached £1,750 when the BBC reported on the sale.

Bailey told the BBC her sister valued the personalised gold and platinum discs she received for sales milestones, but would not have agreed to sell the collection. He also said she had guarded Michael’s privacy during her years working for him. Michael died in 2016.