God made Adam and Steve and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise
In the three-year run up to quitting England, one of the saddest things I now realise I did was to sell off almost every piece of music memorabilia I had ever owned. Personal items that I had carefully collected or obtained since the mid 1980s. Even interview tapes and autographed items I put up for sale, but I felt it was necessary in order to clear the decks, move forward and prepare for a new life on the other side of the world.
And do you know who the majority of those autographs were from? Donna Summer, David Bowie (including original artworks that Bowie in fact bought back from me), Steve Strange, Pete Burns (an original letter from 1984) and George Michael. Almost as soon as I started the ebay process they started dropping like flies, starting with dear Donna. Well, I suppose the nicest thing I can is I hope the new owners are enjoying them.
One night round his Highgate pad, George was more than kind enough to sign a bunch of items, including a CD of Patience, which was released the week we started to get to know each other online.
If you’re wondering why George signed it to Adam I won’t go into too much detail, but some of you, mainly gay males of a certain age will know that for around four years I led a double life and became Adam for work-related purposes, and George had, erm, followed that occasional sideline with great interest. As he ultimately allowed me to interview him for a Gay Times cover feature just prior to opening the brand new Wembley Stadium, the Whamster literally knew both Adam and Steve. Poor sod.
Steve Pafford
