Madonna pays tribute to her brother Christopher

Madonna paid tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone, describing him as “the closest thing to me for so long” after he died aged 63.

His brother was an artist, dancer and designer and appeared in his music videos as Lucky Starart directed her Blond Ambition World Tour and served as tour director for The Girlie Show, died on Friday in Michigan after being diagnosed with cancer.

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In an Instagram post, Madonna said Ciccone felt “a lot of pain at the end.”

She said: “My brother Christopher is gone.

“He was the closest human being to me for so long that it’s hard to explain our bond.

“But it came from understanding that we were different and that society would give us a hard time for not following the status quo.

“We held hands and danced through the madness of our childhood, in fact dancing was a kind of super glue that held us together.

“Discovering dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and saved him too, my ballet teacher, also named Christopher, created a safe space for my brother to be gay, a word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived.

“When I finally had the courage to go to New York to become a dancer, my brother followed me, and again we held hands and danced in the madness of New York City.

“We devoured art, music and cinema like starving animals, we were at the epicenter of all these things exploding.

“We danced amidst the madness of the AIDS epidemic.

“We went to funerals, we cried and we went dancing.

“We danced together on stage early in my career and eventually he became my creative director for many tours.

“When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing.

“We defied the Roman Catholic Church, the police, the moral majority and all authority figures who stood in the way of artistic freedom.

“My brother was by my side, he was a painter, poet and visionary, I admired him.

“He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, which he sometimes used against me, but I always forgave him.

“We have climbed the highest heights together and struggled at the lowest points.

“Somehow, we always found each other again, held hands and continued dancing.”

Ciccone fell out with her sister in 2008, after the release of her best-selling autobiography Life with my sister Madonna in which he wrote about their strained relationship, their romantic complications, as well as memories of his time on tour with her.

Speaking about resolving the rift before Ciccone’s death, Madonna added: “The last few years have not been easy.

“We didn’t speak for a while, but when my brother got sick, we came back to each other.

“I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible.

“He was in a lot of pain at the end, once again, we held hands, closed our eyes and danced together.

“I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore, there will never be anyone like him.

“I know he’s dancing somewhere.”

During her career, Ciccone also directed music videos for Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett and was the interior designer for their homes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

Madonna also lost her stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone, to cancer just a few weeks ago, and her older brother, Anthony Ciccone, early last year.

Source: Press Association