A heartbroken Madonna is paying tribute to singer and model Nick Kamen, who recorded a song with the pop icon in the 1980s.
Kamen died Tuesday at age 59 after a battle with bone marrow cancer, the Mirror reported, and the following day Madonna took to Instagram to mourn his loss.
"It's heart breaking to know you are gone," she captioned a throwback photo of the pair sitting together. "You were always such a kind, sweet human and you suffered too much. Hope you are happier wherever you are Nick Kamen."
Kamen, whose real name was Ivor Neville Kamen, sprang to fame in 1985, after appearing in an advertisement for Levi's in which he stripped down to his boxers in a launderette. The campaign gained the attention of Madonna, who reached out and asked him to record "Each Time You Break My Heart," with her, according to BBC. The song became a top-5 hit.
Shortly after news of Kamen's death, other stars flooded social media with tributes to Kamen.
Duran Duran bassist John Taylor tweeted:
"So so sad to hear of the passing of Nick Kamen. One of the loveliest and gentlest men I ever met. He was a beloved friend to my daughter and her Mom. We shall all miss him. RIP Nick."
Folk singer Tanita Tikaram added:
"Sad to hear that Nick Kamen has died. We met a few times when I was starting out in music as we were signed to the same label. He was kind & sweet, none of the ego of someone who had just set the world alight with his extraordinary beauty My condolences to his family,"
Kamen's former girlfriend Amanda de Cadenet also posted an emotional message for Kamen on social media.
"So many feelings hearing that you are gone," she captioned an old photo of the two of them together.
"I have so many photos I have taken of you, but this is one of the sweetest and reminds me of how much you loved @atlantabean. It's from 1998," she added.
"Reading all the tributes to you, people sharing how kind you were, how talented and yes incredibly handsome. I think you would like most, but you would not like that the loudest take away was that you were in an Levi’s ad and worked with Madonna," de Cadenet continued. "So, I'm going to make sure we don't forget that any notoriety you gained, was something you never embraced. It almost embarrassed you. My experience of you, and our time together was that you spent much of your days making art, cooking, traveling, and chanting."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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