Matt: Are we too terrified to hug now?

GRIEF stricken singer Matt Goss fears loneliness is on the increase because people are terrified of offering a hug or a shoulder to cry on.

The Bros star struggled after the deaths of his sister and mother left him lonely and isolated. He told how he found it difficult to go on.

He said: “My loneliness hit a point where I didn’t know if I could carry on with my life. I mean it was really that intense.When mum passed, I didn’t quite know how to continue.”

He said it was hard not being able to call her after a gig. He explained: “I didn’t know how I would make do without that phone call.

“For the longest time I would send her texts and it was cathartic to me.”

Goss said physical contact from another can provide a huge comfort, but questioned if people today are more wary of contact.

He said: “I think everyone is terrified of each other at the moment.

Tears

“Should we hug each other? Should we not hug each other? But sometimes human beings do need a hug or an arm around the shoulder or someone to notice you are close to tears.

“We need interaction. But we are terrified of it in this politically correct world.We wonder why so many people are lonely, but we are becoming detached from each other.”

Goss, 51, was helping to launch Good Morning Britain’s 1 Million Minutes campaign against loneliness.

The singer, who with twin brother Luke was part of 1980s chart-topping group Bros, has recorded a cover of Are You Lonesome Tonight?

He told how the loss of mother Carol from cancer and sister Carolyn killed by a drunk driver affected him.

He said: “When you come off stage, that phone call that you need to make is absolutely not there. It’s not only you want to tell someone, it’s that somebody wants to listen to those small details.The difference between someone who unconditionally loves you and wants to hear.”