I felt that to some degree they had been responsible for his death. And so I was not a big fan of the press at that point in time. He died the year before combination therapy really kicked in, and with the right help I think he could have stayed alive. He went to Brazil and wasn’t getting the best treatment that he could have. He always wanted to go back to Brazil, and I really think one of the reasons he insisted on that was that he was afraid for himself and his catholic family if, being my boyfriend, the press got hold of the fact he was HIV+. Anselmo wouldn’t accept medical help in LA. Did your relationship with the press reach a nadir there? That’s the problem with having too much pride. And I absolutely believe that in some ways I went through all of that nightmare in LA rather than sit down with a hack and go, ‘Yes.
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So where the fuck was I not out? Until you sit down in front of the press and say ‘l am gay’ you’re not considered to be out. But I didn’t deny it, so all those statements stood. Basically, I told him all this stuff as a mate, because my life had changed so much and I wanted to tell him what I’d gone through. If Tony Parsons writes an article that I had taken part in about my dead was a mess, And I’m lover, where is the mystery? He outed me. I mean, there were three page articles about Anselmo in the papers! There was one by Tony Parsons, who I thought was a good friend.
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I don’t understand this idea that my sexuality was shrouded in any sort of mystery.
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And of course you dedicated it to Anselmo.Įxactly. A lot of your lyrics now make more sense in retrospect, particularly the Older album. Part 4 of the 5-part interview with George Michael written by Adam Mattera and published in Attitude magazine (May 2004, issue 212).