Culture Club star and fellow eighties legend Boy George will pay for penniless pal Pete Burns’ funeral
The Culture Club star stepped in after Pete's ex-wife Lynne told pals she couldn't afford it
BOY George will pay for the funeral of pop star pal Pete Burns, whose death shocked the world of pop this week.
Big-hearted Culture Club star George stepped in after Pete’s ex-wife Lynne told pals she was struggling to afford the service.
The Karma Chameleon singer – an 80s friend of Dead or Alive frontman Pete – immediately offered to foot the bill and is now helping Lynne and Pete’s husband Michael Simpson plan the send-off.
Boy George, 55, led tributes to Celebrity Big Brother star Pete after he died penniless on Monday aged 57 following a cardiac arrest.
He said: “He was one of our great true eccentrics and such a big part of my life.”
And our source said: “It is very sad, but Pete died absolutely penniless and there is no money for a funeral.
“At one point Lynne and Michael were discussing with Pete’s friends setting up a crowdfunding page to pay for it.
“But people were not happy about that as they thought it would be undignified for Pete.
“Pete never really got his life together and was very disorganised which is why there was nothing left.
“When George got wind of this, he offered to pay for the whole thing straight away.
“He told Lynne not to worry and said he would take care of it.
“He thinks she and Michael have enough on their plates and wanted to take this concern away from them.
“It is a very generous gesture – and typical of George.
“As soon as he heard there was a problem he did not hesitate to sort it out.
“He was devastated by the news and Pete was a great friend of his.
“And it is strangely fitting that one Eighties legend should help out another in this way.”
Pete, originally from Wirral, Merseyside scored a 1985 Number with Dead or Alive’s You Spin me Round (Like a Record).
Eccentric Pete – who spent hundreds of thousands on plastic surgery procedures – suffered the cardiac arrest on Sunday. He was revived but medics found he was brain dead.
The star – who was at Lynne’s home when he fell ill – had shocked fans with his look in February when he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side.
A date and venue for Pete’s funeral has not yet been set but the burial is likely to take place in London within weeks. A wake is due to be held at the capital’s famous Groucho Club.
Stars including Eighties singer Marilyn and Frankie Goes to Hollywood singer Holly Johnson are set to attend.
Our source added: “It will be a send-off with style and should be like a who’s who of the 1980s.”