Fans returning to village to celebrate George Michael’s 60th birthday

THREE George Michael super-fans are to throw a celebration in Goring to mark what would have been the singer’s 60th birthday.

Rachel Alderton, Dee Palmer and Victoria Schofield are collaborating with George Michael tribute act Steve Mitchell to put on the event in the village hall on June 24 to raise money for the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, which Michael supported.

The singer died at his home in the village on Christmas Day 2016, aged 53.

Over the following days thousands of fans from all over the world descended on the village to lay flowers and mementos outside the house.

In subsequent years, fans have thrown fundraising events for his birthdays.

In 2019, Goring Parish Council imposed conditions on the annual celebrations on noise and the number of people in attendance following complaints fron villagers.

Ms Alderton, 49, from Lancashire, has been a fan of the singer since she was about 11 years old.

She said: “I followed him everywhere and went to all his concerts in Wembley and Manchester. I was too young to go see Wham! — my mum would never take me, which is my biggest regret.

“I took my 14-year-old daughter Elysia to see Harry Styles last year and I cried because I remembered my mum not letting me go to see George Michael until I was about 18. I got her two premier tickets to go again this year.

“I have another daughter Ilana who’s nine and they are both George Michael fans now too and I often have kitchen discos with his music playing.”

Ms Alderton met Ms Palmer online in 2021 during lockdown when Mr Mitchell had been livestreaming to raise money for charity.

They stayed in touch and met in person during one of the performer’s shows in Manchester. They met Ms Schofield in Goring last year and now all stay in touch.

Mrs Alderton said: “Now I meet up with Dee and Vic in Goring every year, not just for George’s birthday celebrations but for afternoon tea or a meeting at the Catherine Wheel.

“We just feel so connected to Goring. What a beautiful place it is. The villagers are so lovely and so good to us and we wanted to give something back to them.

“For the 60th, we have the Miller of Mansfield pub doing the bar for us and hopefully they’ll create a Club Tropicana cocktail for us.

“We also decided to give a donation to the village hall fundraising appeal in support of the local community. Even after he’s gone, George’s charity work keeps going and that’s what we like to do in his name.

“Steve Mitchell is a wonderful tribute act and he’s doing it for nothing so that every penny can go to charity. It means a lot to us that we keep giving.

“George was such a proud sponsor. He was so modest and we are super-excited to be involved in keeping his good work alive.”

Henley artist Tim O’Sullivan is donating a painting to be auctioned at the celebration and he will have a stall to display his work.

Ms Palmer, 56, from Stoke-on-Trent, became a fan in November 1982, when she was 15, during Wham!’s first performance on Top of the Pops. She said: “I was absolutely hooked. Unfortunately, I only ever saw him live once, which is one of my biggest regrets in life. You always think there’ll be another time. Luckily I got to see him once — a lot of fans didn’t get to do that.

“He referred to his fans as ‘lovelies’ and you’ll find so many social media groups with that name.

“It’s not just his music that his fans love — he was a philanthropist and a do-gooder with a good heart.

“Loads of his fans meet in Goring every year. The couple who own his former house are very welcoming.

“When I met Rachel, we got on really well and I said, ‘Let’s do something special for his 60th’ and we came up with this big event.”

Ms Palmer has a tattoo sleeve of Michael’s face on her leg and her home office is a “shrine” with photos and memorabilia of him all over the walls.

She was involved in the campaign to try to get Wham!’s 1984 No 2 hit Last Christmas to No 1 last year.

She said: “We downloaded every variation on every platform and in every language we could find and we just sat up all night playing the song. We asked all our family and friends to join in. The co-ordinator lives in Madrid and she was finding out what was legal and what counted because we wanted it to be done right.

“We got it to No 1 on New Year’s Day in 2021 and last year just after Christmas — it’s hard to compete with Mariah Carey.”

Ms Schofield, 51, a childminder from Lincoln, also became a fan of Wham! through Top of the Pops.

She said: “My obsession with George Michael started then. I shared a bedroom with my sister and on her side of the room were posters of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran and I had George Michael.

“Now I have a shrine to George and a full cardboard cut-out of him in my room.”

Ms Schofield said: “I always played George Michael for my kids and now I do it for my grandkids. They all know the words to all the Wham! songs and my granddaughter wants to come with me to the next tribute concert.”

Mr Mitchell said: “I was delighted to be asked to perform as I am also a big George Michael fan and doing this for such a good cause is really important for me and his fan base.

“I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying the night.”

The event sold out within 24 hours of tickets going on sale, so the organisers are planning a live online show and auction.

To make a donation, visit 
www.justgiving.com/page/gm60-
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