Madonna has paid a heartfelt tribute to her brother following his death

She wrote on Instagram: "My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long. It's hard to explain our bond.

"But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo. We took each other's hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together.

"Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too. My ballet Teacher, also named Christopher- created a safe space for my brother to be Gay. a word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived.

"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!

"We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals. we were in the epicenter of all of these things exploding.

"We danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic. We went to funerals and we cried, and we went dancing."

Christopher went from his sister's backing dancer to her show designer and backstage dresser, and was the art director for her 'Blonde Ambition' world tour and tour director for 'The Girlie Show' and Madonna hailed him as a "visionary" with impeccable taste, even when they rowed.

She wrote: "We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became the Creative Director, of many tours. When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing.

"We defied the Roman Catholic Church, The Police, the Moral Majority and all Authority figures that got in the way of Artistic freedom! 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."

Christopher - who also directed videos for Tony Bennett and Dolly Parton, as well as working as an interior designer - fell out with his superstar sibling when he released his 2008 best-selling book 'Life With My Sister Madonna' but they later reconciled and the 'Beautiful Stranger' singer did her best to "keep him alive" in his final months.

She concluded: "The last few years have not been easy. We did not speak for sometime but When my brother got sick. We found our way back to each other. I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible.

"He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands We closed our eyes and we danced. Together.

"I'm glad he's not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he's dancing somewhere."