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
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
The instrument was played by Michael in the music video for Faith and was among several items sold by Sworders on Thursday from the collection of his former personal assistant Siobhan Bailey, who died in 2014.
asserted
who → play → 2014
It exceeded expectations and sold for £234,480, bought by an anonymous UK-based buyer who was bidding on the internet.
asserted
who → exceed → internet
He said his sister “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”.
According to the BBC, Ms Bailey was in the process of divorcing her husband but was legally still married to Mr Belcher at the time of her death and did not leave a will, meaning the collection passed to him.
Mr Bailey told the BBC he accepted Mr Belcher had the right to sell the items but claimed his sister was in the process of drafting a will before her death to leave the items to her nieces and nephews.
uncertain
sister → say → nieces
In a letter to the auction house, seen by the broadcaster, Mr Bailey said the family considers the auction a “breach of his sister’s privacy” and said using her name was “disingenuous”, and asked for the sale to be stopped or listed in Mr Belcher’s name.
asserted
sale → see → name
A spokesperson for Sworders said: “We are not well-placed to comment on a family matter, but such disputes are not uncommon in the auction business.
asserted
disputes → say → business
In this case, as the BBC article makes clear, the legal title of the collection is not in question.”
asserted
title → make → question
The auction house said Mr Belcher was unavailable for comment.
asserted
Belcher → say → comment
Mr Bailey said Michael gave the guitar to Ms Bailey, who was his assistant for 20 years, as a gift because he “thought so much of her”.
asserted
he → say → her
Michael plays the guitar dressed in a black leather jacket and blue jeans in the Faith video.
asserted
Michael → play → video
Other items in the sale include ring-bound tour itineraries from Michael’s solo career and his time in the band Wham!.
asserted
items → include → band
There is also memorabilia from some of his most celebrated live performances, including a four-page running order from Live Aid in 1985 which features his duet with Sir Elton John, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.
asserted
Sun → be → Me
Other items for sale include a gold disc for 500,000 UK sales of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, which is estimated to fetch between £200 and £500.
asserted
which → include → 200
There are also rare cassettes and acetate singles, some marked “Not For Sale”, and a number of signed photographs, all personally inscribed to Ms Bailey.
asserted
all → be → Bailey
Guy Schooling, chairman of Sworders auctioneers, previously said 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 → say → artists
Michael, born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, had 13 number one singles in the UK.
asserted
Michael → bear → UK
He came out as gay in 1998 and became an activist for LGBT rights and an HIV/Aids charity fundraiser.
Michael died of heart disease on Christmas Day in 2016, aged 53.
asserted
Michael → come → 2016
The Aporia
