◼ HERE IS THE FULL TEXT of the first celebrity eulogy at Steve Strange’s funeral, given by Spandau Ballet sax player, Steve Norman. (An earlier address had been given by ‘Kimbo’, a local friend, who was almost inaudible inside the church.) The audio quality generally was too poor to publish more than the short clip of Steve that you hear in the funeral video, above, created by Shapers of the 80s.
Steve Norman’s voice faltered in the most touching way because he was feeling strong emotions and apparently speaking spontaneously.
The Steves Strange and Norman: friends to the end
NORMSKI’S SPEECH: ‘HE HELPED SHAPE THE 80S’
In full, he said: “A lot has been said since Steve passed about his contribution to the pop culture and how he helped to shape the 80s. We wished a few more people had said it when he was around. Steve needed that affirmation of how much he was loved.
“He was a very generous man, but first and foremost he was my friend. I’ve known Steve since the 70s. He took myself and Martin Kemp under his wing. We didn’t have any money back then and he took us to all the groovy places in London back in the 70s and early 80s when things weren’t really happening at all, but Steve found out what was going on, took us there and paid for everything and our drinks, whatever we wanted, and we had a great time. And that relationship lasted all throughout his life – we were very close to the end.
“The last time I spoke to Steve was before Christmas and he called up and he was a little distraught and we had a mutual friend he’d fallen out massively with, and Steve was worried I might take the other side. I reminded him of the early days and what he did for myself and how he was always there. He would turn up at my parents’ house for a cup of tea and a chat – he loved people and really needed to connect with people.
“I remember saying to him I love you dearly and he said he loved me. And I put the phone down – and he hadn’t put it down properly and I heard him telling somebody ‘Ah, I love Steve and Steve loves me.’ He was so sensitive. It was a great comfort that I could tell him how much I loved him.
“He was a very sensitive, generous, caring, special human being with a massive heart.”
BOY GEORGE’S POEM FOR STEVE STRANGE
Steve Strange and Boy George: “first-class show-off, fellow freak”. (Photo by Yui Mok)
❏ Even though the service took place in a high Anglican church, George O’Dowd wore his cap throughout. He adjusted the microphone before declaiming= his eulogy which took the form of a poem, saying: “I’ve known Steve some time so I’ve written a few things. . . you might not have heard in a church before.”
Life asked Death
why do people love you but hate me?
Death responded:
because you are a beautiful lie
and I am a painful truth
.
Goodbye Steve,
part-time nemesis,
rogue,
glam rocker,
punk rocker,
new romantic,
old romantic,
first-class show-off,
fellow freak,
beautiful gay man,
seminal pop star,
wrecking ball,
costume ball,
masked ball,
futurist,
fashionista,
Blitz Kid,
blitzkrieg,
Welshman,
wild card,
weirdo,
sister,
sinner,
saint,
whirling,
swirling,
in your warpaint.
If you pray
all your sins are hooked upon the sky.
Pray and the heathen lie will disappear.
Prayers they hide
the saddest view.
(Believing the Steve Strangest thing,
loving the alien)
➢➢ Shapers of the 80s ➣➣ 