The guitar George Michael played in the 1987 music video for Faith went under the hammer at Sworders, clearing its upper valuation by a considerable margin to reach £180,000. Presale estimates had valued the instrument between £60,000 and £120,000. Yet the headline figure told only part of the story, as the lot arrived in the auction room under an acrimonious cloud, exposing an unresolved family dispute over the estate of Michael's former personal assistant.
The instrument was originally a gift to Siobhan Bailey, who joined Michael's camp in 1984 and worked alongside him for two decades. It formed the centerpiece of an extensive private collection Bailey assembled during her career with the pop star. Other lots in the catalog demonstrated the breadth of her time in Michael's orbit. A gold presentation disc marking the success of Wham! single Wake Me Up Before You Go Go reached £4,500, while a signed copy of Queen's Five Live EP owned by Michael brought £7,000. A civic honor awarded to Michael by Malaga City Council fetched £1,300, alongside an assortment of tour programmes, platinum discs, and personal correspondence.
While the bids climbed, the history behind the consignment was fraught. Bailey died unexpectedly in 2014, leaving no will. At the time of her death, she was in the process of divorcing her husband, Ian Belcher. With the legal split incomplete, Belcher remained her lawful next of kin and inherited her entire estate, which included the Michael archive. Belcher subsequently consigned the items to Sworders, listing them under Bailey's name.
That decision provoked immediate pushback from Bailey's brother, Gerard Bailey. In an attempt to halt the sale, Gerard wrote directly to the auction house, denouncing the event as an egregiously shameful misuse of his sister's name and a serious breach of her privacy. He argued that if Siobhan had drawn up a will, the memorabilia would have gone straight to her nieces and nephews, insisting that the surviving family would never have chosen to part with them. Demanding that Siobhan's name be struck from the catalog and substituted with Belcher's, Gerard claimed his former brother in law was simply cashing in on treasured possessions.
Sworders auctioneer Guy Schooling offered the consignor's rationale, explaining that the items could not remain in a garage indefinitely. Left in domestic storage, Schooling noted, the collection faced inevitable deterioration.
The conflict shows how fiercely protected Michael's memory remains nearly a decade after his death at 53 on Christmas Day in 2016. High profile tributes and archival projects continue to surface. At the 2026 Ivor Novello awards, former Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley collected an Academy Fellowship on Michael's behalf, remarking on the catalogue's emotional directness and how Michael bridged Wham!'s early energy with deep, soul rooted songwriting. More recently, the 2026 MTV VMAs staged a tribute set featuring RAYE, Teddy Swims, Adam Lambert, and Sombr, while Michael's former manager has discussed plans to complete and issue an unfinished duet recorded with Elton John.
Cinema screens are next. On November 6, George Michael: The Faith Tour arrives in theaters, presenting restored 1988 Paris concert footage assembled by Andy Morahan and David Austin, paired with an 18 track live album featuring unreleased recordings. The sale at Sworders illustrates the contrast between that polished, celebratory public legacy and the complicated human consequences that arise when personal keepsakes change hands.
