Madonna pays tribute to brother Christopher Ciccone

The singer explained that “discovering dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too”.

She wrote: “When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a dancer, my brother followed, and again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City.”

She added that the pair “devoured art and music and film like hungry animals” in the city, and “were in the epicentre of all of these things exploding”.

“We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became my creative director of many tours.”

She added: “My brother was right by my side, he was a painter a poet and a visionary, I admired him.

“He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him.

“We soared the highest heights together, and floundered in the lowest lows.

“Somehow, we always found each other again and we held hands and we kept dancing.”