Holly Johnson shares that his longterm partner has passed away as he reflects on grief with Mika (EXCLUSIVE)
"It didn’t give me time to wallow in the loss," said Johnson
By Aaron Sugg
Attitude’s latest cover stars, Holly Johnson and Mika, mourned their lost loved ones in a heart-to-heart, remembering the late mothers and partners who were central to their lives.
The Frankie Goes to Hollywood frontman shared that he lost Wolfgang Kuhle, his partner of over 40 years in July this year, and Mika lost his mother in 2021, as the pair discussed how their careers intersect with grief.
“Throughout our lives, as we keep going, there are people who have been so important to us,” said Mika, setting the tone of the discussion.
“It was very healing for me in terms of the loss of my mother” – Mika on writing upcoming album Hyperlove
Remembering his mother, the late Joannie Penniman, Mika recalled writing music after her passing. “When I wrote this new record, it was very healing for me in terms of the loss of my mother because I felt like she would have been proud of it,” he said.
His mother played a substantial part in shaping who Mika is today, encouraging music as an escape during a turbulent childhood and putting him through opera training.
“She trained me in music when I was younger,” said Mika. “I feel like we’re lucky to be able to do this job because we can metabolise loss.”
“It’s fundamentally back” – Mika revealed losing his mother impacted performing
Though the loss did not come without its emotional baggage, he expressed difficulty performing live: “To perform with a certain kind of burning and desire on stage that I had almost lost for a bit, and now it’s fundamentally back.”
2026 is set to be a monumental year for Mika, as he is set to release his seventh studio album, Hyperlove, and embark on his European ‘Spinning Out Tour’.
Johnson, on the other hand, said music was a distraction after losing Kuhle, adding that the full weight of the loss has not quite hit him yet.
“I’m still waiting for the bomb to drop, to be honest with you” – Holly Johnson on losing his later partner Wolfgang Kuhle
“When Wolfgang passed away in July, I already had a tour and two festivals to do. And I just had to carry on,” the 65-year-old admitted.
“It was a great distraction for me to go straight into that,” he said. “And it didn’t give me time to wallow in the loss of him, a man who had been so central to my life for 41 years, man and boy. So, I’m still waiting for the bomb to drop, to be honest with you.”
German artist Kuhle acted as Johnson’s manager and partner, and together they navigated Johnson’s HIV diagnosis in the 1990s, forming a deeply enduring relationship.
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