Chris Martin from Coldplay performs at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. Photo /Steven McNicholl
Chris Martin from Coldplay performs at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. Photo /Steven McNicholl
Chris Martin paid his tribute to George Michael - who was famously charitable - by surprising a group of homeless people with a performance of Wham!'s Last Christmas.
The 39-year-old stunned the group of homeless people, volunteers and staff at a Crisis shelter in west London.
He performed some ofhis own hits as well as the popular Christmas single.
During the show, he dedicated it to George Michael.
@crisis_uk loved first shift at #crisisxmas at West London centre. Brilliant guests & volunteers Cool duet by one guest & Chris Martin 😎
Although the star performed the under-the-radar show with no publicity, some news of it escaped onto social media.
Someone believed to be a Crisis volunteer posted a picture of himself and Chris Martin on Instagram, writing: "That moment when Coldplay's Chris Martin drops into the Crisis at Christmas shelter, with no fuss, no fanfare and no press, to help make tea and coffee and also play guitar so the guests can have a sing song.
"Thank you for coming down and getting stuck in."
volunteering at crisis wth Chris Martin was definitely a Christmas highlight ✨
He has also helped countless children as a result of his donations to Childline and also supported other organisations including the Terrence Higgins Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Michael, who spoke about losing his partner Anselmo Feleppa to HIV, "personally supported" the Terrence Higgins Trust for "many years", Jane Barron from the organisation said.
"We are so saddened by the loss of George Michael," she added.
A woman on 'Deal Or No Deal' told us she needed £15k for IVF treatment. George Michael secretly phoned the next day and gave her the £15k.
"George also often thought of us to kindly donate experiences and gifts that were used to raise vital funds to help us support people living with HIV.
Childline founder and president Dame Esther Rantzen revealed that Michael had given the royalties from his 1996 number one single Jesus To A Child to the charity.
His support for the LGBTQ community, the NHS and the miners marked George Michael out as an activist as well as a great artist. pic.twitter.com/tsKNp22Lr7
She told the Press Association: "For years now he has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist, giving money to Childline, but he was determined not to make his generosity public so no-one outside the charity knew how much he gave to the nation's most vulnerable children.
"Over the years he gave us millions and we were planning next year, as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations to create, we hoped, a big concert in tribute to him - to his artistry, to his wonderful musicality but also to thank him for the 100s of 1,000s of children he helped through supporting Childline.
"And it is particularly tragic that Christmas, which was when he released Jesus to a Child, would also be the time when we lost him.
Pop star George Michael died on Christmas Day. Photo / AP
"I think all of us have memories of particular Wham! songs and George Michael songs which mean a great deal to us.
