Paul Young reveals how Gino D’Acampo burgling his home affected memories of late wife
PAUL YOUNG, who previously fronted the band Kat Kool and the Kool Cats, has revealed the difficult memories of Gino D’Acampo burgling his home back in 1998 have hit home again following the death of his wife Stacey.
Paul Young discusses marriage to Stacey
The 62-year-old singer said he lost music which reminded him of his wife Stacey – who died in January - because of the incident 20 years ago.
This Morning’s Gino D’Acampo, 42, raided the singer’s home when he was 21, stealing items including the musician's £4,000 guitar collection and a platinum disc.
While the singer got most of his stuff back, Paul Young admitted sentimental items with his late spouse’s voice on were still missing.
He told The Mirror: “I’ve got mixed feelings about it. When Stacey went there were certain bits of music I never got back.
When Stacey went there were certain bits of music I never got back.
“Let’s say that – and that hurt me.”
Insisting he tries to stay positive about the ordeal, he added: “I try to keep a light-hearted attitude on that.
“He gets enough stick on social networking – he doesn’t need my help as well.”
Gino was arrested after his DNA was found on a cigarette butt at Paul’s house in Mill Hill, London.
He was jailed for two years.
Addressing the conviction, a post on his website reportedly read: "It was while in England that an involvement with the 'wrong people' landed him a spell at Her Majesty's Pleasure but the sojourn resolved his mind and set him on a new course to succeed."
Paul went on to reveal Gino had apologised to him ahead of his stint on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2009.
The singer insisted he had forgiven the This Morning star two years later, when he spoke openly about what happened.
He told The Evening Standard: “I don’t hold it against him. He said it was bad and he apologised, and I did get most of the stuff back.
“Maybe he needed his wrist slapping and he got that. He said he was in a terrible place and wanted to turn his life around.”
Following his time in prison, Gino said his punishment for the crime had helped him change his life around.
He told What’s On TV in 2011: "It was a dreadful experience, but in life I’ve learned to make good come out of everything.
"I thought, ‘This is not going to drag me down, this is going to make me a better man'."
He added: “I came out of prison a man with a plan, determined to set up a business importing Italian ingredients.”
The father-of-three went on to say focusing on his love for food had “saved him”.
He continued: “The point is, food saved me again. It always has and still does; it’s a constant for me."