Gay icon Kensington of AIDS-related illnesses (bronchial pneumonia). Artists particularly embraced by the gay community during the 1980s included Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Alaska, Charo, Dolly Parton, Elaine Paige, Amanda Lear, Prince and Mylène Farmer. Several Britons were seen as gay icons, including singers Boy George, David Bowie, George Michael, Morrissey, Pet Shop Boys, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, and writer Quentin Crisp. Elton John also became a gay icon during this decade, a status strengthened throughout the years. Diana Ross, a long time gay icon, of The Supremes; released a song I'm Coming Out which brought a significance to the phrase of
Gay icon and "Queen of Dance" by the media, and later the "World's Most Successful Female Recording Artist" by "Guinness World Records"—became the preeminent gay icon of the late 20th century. "The Advocate"s Steve Gdula commented "[b]ack in the 1980s and even the early 1990s, the release of a new Madonna video or single was akin to a national holiday, at least among her gay fans." Gdula also stated that during this period, concurrent with the rise of the AIDS epidemic, "when other artists tried to distance themselves from the very audience that helped their stars to rise, Madonna only turned the