It s heart-breaking to know you are gone : Madonna pays an emotional tribute to her protégé and Levi s launderette model Nick Kamen after his death aged 59 from bone marrow cancer
The music icon, 62, took to Instagram shortly after news of his passing to share pictures and a tribute
In her poignant post, she wrote: You were always such a kind sweet human and you suffered too much
Essex-born model, real name Ivor Neville Kamen, had been suffering from bone marrow cancer for years
News of death emerged after tributes from friends including Boy George, who called him the sweetest man
Nick Kamen, Levi s launderette advert model and Madonna protege, dies at 59 British model and singer Nick Kamen, who appeared in the famous 1980s Levi s launderette advert and was also considered a protege of Madonna, has died aged 59.
A friend of the family confirmed the news. It is understood the star, who was born in Essex, died on Tuesday night after a long illness.
Friend
Boy George led the tributes on social media, sharing a photo of the pair together and saying: RIP to the most beautiful and sweetest man Nick Kamen!
Kamen, whose real name was Ivor Neville Kamen, was best known for his 1986 hit Each Time You Break My Heart, which was written by Madonna, and for I Promised Myself, in 1990 - as well as for stripping down to his boxers in the memorable 1985 Levi s 501 commercial, soundtracked by Marvin Gaye s Heard It Through The Grapevine.
Nick Kamen, Levi’s model and Madonna collaborator, dies aged 59
He was best known for the hit single Each Time You Break My Heart and for starring in an iconic jeans ad
Nick Kamen in 1987
Credit: Dave Hogan
Nick Kamen, the singer and model who made four records in the late Eighties and early Nineties, has died at the age of 59.
Essex-born Kamen, whose real first name was Ivor, shot to fame via a 1985 Levi s 501 TV advertisement, which caught the attention of Madonna.
In the ad, he strips off in a launderette, to the tune of Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine. The clip is often referred to as one of the most influential TV ads ever made, and resulted in an 800 per cent increase in sales of 501s.
Kamen – who worked with Ray Petri and Madonna – has died, aged 59
May 05, 2021
Nick Kamen, the model and musician, who is best known for his association with Buffalo – a collective who set the agenda in fashion in the 1980s – has died aged 59.
One of eight children, Ivor Neville Kamen was born in 1962 in Harlow, Essex. He and his siblings were of mixed Burmese, Irish, Dutch and English heritage – something one of his brothers, Barry, once described as “a total product of colonialism”. In his teens, Kamen was introduced to Ray Petri – the creator of Buffalo – through Barry and quickly, the pair became the stylist’s model muses, appearing in many of his shoots throughout the 80s. Perhaps the most famous of these was for
mtv An Oral History Of The A Teens, The ABBA Cover Band That Defined Y2K Pop They went global with Teen Spirit, toured with Britney Spears, and then. silence. 20 years later, the Swedish foursome explain what really happened
In 1998, Britney Spears traveled to Stockholm to record songs for her debut album,
.Baby One More Time, with producers like Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. She was one of many stars at the time who ventured to the Swedish city to capitalize on the words and sounds of its burgeoning pop scene. Months later, at a dance school only a few miles away, a team of record label executives convened to audition a group of 100 teenagers for a project they called the âABBA Teens,â an homage to Swedenâs most popular musical export.