Madonna has paid tribute to Nick Kamen, the model, actor and singer whose biggest hit was co-written by the star.
Kamen caught the eye in a 1985 Levi’s jeans advert – baring his chest in a launderette – and the queen of pop invited him in on a track the following year. He died this week aged 59.
“Heartbreaking to know you are gone,” the superstar posted online.
The pair had a top five hit with Each Time You Break My Heart, which featured Madonna on backing vocals.
“You were always such a kind, sweet human and you suffered too much,” she added.
“Hope you are happier wherever you are Nick Kamen.”
Kamen – real name Ivor Neville Kamen – rose to fame in the Levi’s commercial, which showed him stripping down to his boxer shorts in a launderette as several women looked on.
The advert, soundtracked by Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine, helped to boost the company’s denim sales and made him a sex symbol in the process.
It also caught the attention of Madonna, who told the BBC at the time she had been taken by Kamen’s “charisma” and “beautiful voice”.