Madonna's younger brother Christopher Ciccone died of cancer at the age of 63 on Oct 4. Photos: Madonna/Instagram
American pop star Madonna has shared a touching tribute to her younger brother Christopher Ciccone, who died of cancer at the age of 63 on Oct 4.
Describing him as “the closest human to me for so long”, the 66-year-old wrote on Instagram on Oct 6: “It’s hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo.”
The Queen of Pop, whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone, also reminisced about their younger days.
“We took each other‘s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact, dance was a kind of superglue that held us together,” the Take A Bow (1994) singer wrote. “Discovering dance in our small Midwestern town saved me, and then my brother came along, and it saved him too.”
Sharing a series of photos of themselves together throughout the years, Madonna noted that he followed her when she “finally got the courage to go to New York to become a dancer”.
“And again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City,” she wrote. “We devoured art and music and film like hungry animals. We were in the epicentre of all of these things exploding.”
Madonna added: “We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and, eventually, he became the creative director of many tours.”
Christopher Ciccone had worked with her during the early stages of her career, serving as the art director of her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, the artistic director of her 1991 documentary Madonna: Truth Or Dare, and designing and directing her The Girlie Show tour in 1993.
“He was a painter, a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, which he sometimes used against me, but I always forgave him,” she wrote.
“We soared the highest heights together. And floundered in the lowest lows. Somehow, we always found each other again, and we held hands and we kept dancing.”
Ciccone co-authored a memoir, Life With My Sister Madonna, with late celebrity biographer Wendy Leigh in 2008, in which he made allegations about his sister’s life and her romantic relationships.
The siblings reconciled in 2012, but fell out again in 2017, after he opened new wounds in an interview with tabloid The US Sun.
“The last few years have not been easy. We did not speak for some time, but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other. I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible. He was in so much pain towards the end,” Madonna disclosed on Oct 6.
“Once again, we held hands. We closed our eyes and we danced. Together.”
Concluding the tribute, she wrote: “I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
