George Michael's cousin calls for a public memorial for fans

23 December 2019, 14:03 | Updated: 3 February 2020, 11:10

George Michael's friend has said that the late singer has been "forgotten" and deserves some form of public memorial.

Andros Georgiou has urged George's family to build a memorial to the star, saying: “He has been forgotten.”

George, who died on Christmas Day three years ago, is buried next to his mother Lesley in an unmarked grave, with only a small headstone with no inscription.

Georgiou said that relatives should be able to grieve properly for the singer, while a public memorial should also be created for fans.

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He told the Mirror: “I believe the family are planning to have a simple cross on George’s grave with nothing on it.

“There should be an inscription on there. It should be his nickname, Yog, and something like, ‘The man and his music’. That’s how we all knew him.

“That needs to happen for the friends and family, and the estate need to make that happen. The sooner the better really – it’s already been three years.”

George Michael's grave is in a private area of Highgate cemetery in North London, away from where visitors can see other graves of Karl Marx and Hitchhiker’s Guide author Douglas Adams among others.

Andros, who is actually a friend of George who became so close to the singer that they called each other cousins, says the George would not have wanted fans by his graveside.

He said: “He was private in life and that’s how it should be in death. But a beautiful tree, with a fence around it with flowers inside would be perfect. He loved walking, taking his dog out and he always loved flowers. An orchid was his favourite.

“One of his former houses had a tree growing through it. It would be amazing to replicate that. Even to plant a few trees in an area where fans could hang out and pay their respects would work well.”

A shrine for George that was put up outside his Highgate mansion was removed 18 months after his death, after hundreds of visitors a week disturbed neighbours.

Meanwhile, plans to put up a statue in the Oxfordshire village of Goring-on-Thames, near the home where George died, was rejected by local councillors.

Andros, who fell out with George 19 years ago, added: “I went to say my piece, and chat with him. It didn’t really help, but it’s something. I’m going again soon. We had a big bust-up over something stupid, I can’t even remember.

"But we’d arranged to meet on January 4, 2017. He died without us being able to discuss what happened. It was crushing I didn’t have a chance to speak to him. Me coming back in his life was to be part of a turning point."