Grieving fans on Monday mourned the death of George Michael as British charities revealed that the pop star had secretly been a major behind-the-scenes donor who gave his time and money to support cherished causes.
The man with the reputation for self-indulgence had actually given millions of pounds (dollars) to charities involved with helping children, cancer victims and AIDS sufferers.
He was also remembered for small acts of kindness: helping his village in north London get a Christmas tree, and volunteering at a homeless shelter.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney posted a statement on his website praising Michael’s “sweet soul music,” which he said will live on.
“Having worked with him on a number of occasions his great talent always shone through and his self-deprecating sense of humor made the experience even more pleasurable,”
McCartney said, posting a picture of the two of them together.
The singer’s death was announced late Sunday. Many paid tribute on Facebook and Twitter and others cited years of good works that received little publicity – largely because Michael insisted on keeping his charity work out of the limelight.
Fans placed flowers and other tributes at his homes in north London and in Goring, England, where he died of apparent heart failure.
Among the groups he supported were the Terrence Higgins Trust, which helps people with AIDS, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Childline, which offers confidential phone counseling for young people.
Childline founder Esther Rantzen said Michael gave royalties from his 1996 hit “Jesus To A Child” to the charity along with many other donations.
“Over the years he gave us millions and we were planning next year, as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations to create, we hoped, a big concert in tribute to him – to his artistry, to his wonderful musicality but also to thank him for the hundreds of thousands of children he helped,”
she said.
She said Michael was determined that no one outside the charity should know “how much he gave to the nation’s most vulnerable children.”
Jane Barron from the Terrence Higgins Trust said Michael made many donations and gifts, including the royalties of his “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” duet with Elton John in 1991.
Michael had spoken publicly about the pain of losing a partner to AIDS early in the epidemic, but he kept his long history of donations to the Trust private.
Source: London AP
