David Bowie’s first-known studio recording has sold at auction for almost $52,000 (£40,000).
The 1963 demo tape, which was rejected by bosses at record company Decca, features a 16-year-old David Jones singing I Never Dreamed with his band The Konrads.
Jones went on to find mega fame as Bowie.
The recording was discovered by The Konrads’ drummer David Hadfield in his attic.
Omega Auctions estimated the item would go under the hammer for $13,000 (£10,000), but it sold for almost four times as much.
Two overseas collectors fought for the recording over the phone.
“There was certainly applause when the hammer went down,” an auction house spokesperson tells the BBC. “It’s a fantastic piece of history.”
Promotional sketches by the late Bowie from his days with The Konrads and photographs and posters of the band also sold at the auction.
Hadfield told the outlet that David Jones had no ambitions to become a frontman when he was recruited as the group’s saxophonist.
“His heart and mind were focused on becoming a world-class saxophone player,” he says. “Our agent, Eric Easton, who also managed the Rolling Stones, asked us to do a demo so he could try and get us an audition at Decca. We had decided that we would do a couple of guitar instrumentals and one original song.
“Decca initially turned us down, but when they eventually gave us an audition later that year, vocalist Roger Ferris was the lead voice and David sang backing harmonies.”
Bowie quit the group after the audition. He lost his battle with cancer in January, 2016.
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