George Michael's Faith guitar is set to sell for £120,000 after his personal assistant's estranged husband put it up for auction after her death

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Folker, R. (2026, October 29). George Michael's Faith guitar is set to sell for £120,000 after his personal assistant's estranged husband put it up for auction after her death. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16248213/George-Michael-Faith-guitar-personal-assistant-husband-auction-death.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-29 · by Robert Folker

Quick Summary

George Michael's guitar from his "Faith" music video is set to be auctioned for £120,000 after the death of his personal assistant Siobhan Bailey. The guitar was donated by Michael to Bailey in 1987 and is now being sold by her estranged husband Ian Belcher following her death in 2014. This sale has sparked a family dispute, with Bailey's brother arguing that it goes against her wishes as she intended to leave the items to her nieces and nephews. The auction also includes other personal memorabilia such as signed photographs and documents from Wham!'s China tour.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The guitar used in George Michael's iconic "Faith" music video is set to sell for up to £120,000 at an auction in London after his former personal assistant, Siobhan Bailey, died in 2014. Her estranged husband, Ian Belcher, inherited the guitar and other memorabilia donated by George Michael and put them up for sale, sparking a family dispute. Siobhan's brother, Gerard Bailey, told the BBC that she would be horrified at her possessions being sold off to the highest bidder. Gerard claims his sister was in the process of drafting a will before her death, intending to leave items to her nieces and nephews, but the documents were never finalized, leaving everything to Belcher by default. The auction includes an annotated itinerary from Wham!'s historic 1985 China tour and various presentation discs and gold records celebrating milestone sales.

Written for “George Michael's Faith Guitar Auction” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

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📰 George Michael's Faith Guitar Auction
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This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
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Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8189 article(s) · 19 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 19 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Robert Folker
59 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 George Michael's guitar from his Faith video is expected to sell for £120,000 after his personal assistant's estranged husband put it up for auction following her death.
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Also by Robert Folker
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 59 articles by Robert Folker →

Topics

BBC China Gretsch Synchromatic 160 Wham

Subjects

Siobhan PERSON · 8× Belcher PERSON · 5× Gerard PERSON · 4× Michael PERSON · 4× BBC ORG · 2× China GPE · 2× George Michael's PERSON · 2× Gerard Bailey PERSON · 2× Siobhan Bailey PERSON · 2× Wham ORG · 2×

Narrative

An annotated itinerary from Wham!'s historic 1985 China tour, the first by a major Western pop act, which comes with a Chinese-language invitation to a welcome reception in Beijing Pictured: Numerous presentation discs and gold records celebrating milestone sales as part of the auction Pictured: George Michael concert tickets, passes and invitations The guitar has been on show at auctioneer Sworders in London over the past week and will go under the hammer today.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 George Michael's guitar from his Faith video is expected to sell for £120,000 after his personal assistant's estranged husband put it up for auction following her death.

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

George Michael's guitar from his Faith video is expected to sell for £120,000 after his personal assistant's estranged husband put it up for auction following her death. asserted
husband → expect → death
The singer-songwriter donated the guitar to his long-term personal assistant, Siobhan Bailey, and it is now being sold by her estranged husband, Ian Belcher, who inherited it after her death in 2014, sparking a family row. asserted
who → donate → row
A number of signed photographs, all personally inscribed to Siobhan, the singer's running order for Live Aid and an annotated itinerary from Wham!'s historic 1985 China tour also make up part of the auction. asserted
number → sign → auction
Siobhan's brother, Gerard Bailey, told the BBC she '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'. asserted
possessions → tell → bidder
He claimed that Siobhan was in the process of divorcing her husband, but she was legally still married when she died. She had started to draw up a will shortly before her death, Gerard claimed, with her intention to leave the items to her nieces and nephews, but it was not registered. The singer-songwriter donated the guitar to his long-term personal assistant, Siobhan Bailey Siobhan started as Michael's PA in 1984, and remained in the position for 20 years The guitar up for sale was given as 'a gift' to his sister because Michael 'thought so much of her', Siobhan's brother, Gerard Bailey said It is not suggested that Mr Belcher doesn't have the right to sell the items, but Gerard said that if his sister had lived for a few weeks longer, the items would not have been passed onto Mr Belcher. uncertain
items → claim → Belcher
Labelling it 'disingenuous' that the sale was being promoted in her name, Gerard has asked that if the auction goes ahead, it should be in Mr Belcher's name. He said that Siobhan would have wanted the memorabilia to 'have remained with her family and we would never have sold' and accused Mr Belcher of deciding '12 years after my sister's death to cash in'. asserted
we → label → death
Siobhan started as Michael's PA in 1984, and remained in the position for 20 years. asserted
Siobhan → start → years
'I think she was one of the few people George trusted and whose opinion he valued,' Gerard said. asserted
Gerard → think → opinion
I guess that's why she stayed working for him for so long through the very, very good and not so good times. asserted
she → guess → times
' The guitar up for sale was given as 'a gift' to his sister because Michael 'thought so much of her', he added. asserted
he → give → her
The star played the Gretsch Synchromatic 160 guitar energetically in the video to the 1987 hit song, which sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. asserted
which → play → copies
An annotated itinerary from Wham!'s historic 1985 China tour, the first by a major Western pop act, which comes with a Chinese-language invitation to a welcome reception in Beijing Pictured: Numerous presentation discs and gold records celebrating milestone sales as part of the auction Pictured: George Michael concert tickets, passes and invitations The guitar has been on show at auctioneer Sworders in London over the past week and will go under the hammer today. asserted
guitar → annotate → hammer
Guy Schooling, chairman of Sworders, said: 'George Michael's work continues to resonate as powerfully today as it did during his heyday. asserted
it → say → heyday
The Faith guitar is the "jewel in the crown", together with the other items from Siobhan Bailey's collection, it tells a story of creativity, ambition and artistry on a global scale. asserted
it → tell → scale
The sale will offer avid fans around the globe, the chance to own not just pieces of music history, but objects that capture the spirit and ambition of one of pop's greatest and most-loved artists.' asserted
that → offer → artists
Mr Belcher declined to comment when approached by the BBC. asserted
Belcher → decline → BBC
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