Nine lost Michael Jackson tracks will be auctioned off to the highest bidder later this month.
The songs, which were to feature on an album tentatively titled Bible, will be part of an online Jackson memorabilia sale set up by New York auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll, which will begin on July 19 and run for nine days.
Alternate mixes of three of the songs on the album, Monster, Breaking News, and Keep Your Head Up, appeared on the 2010 album Michael, but the other nine tracks have never been released. They include titles like Everything’s Just Fine, Black Widow, Water, Let Me Fall in Love, Ready to Win, and Soldier Boy.
The starting bid on the unreleased album is $50,000 (£39,000), but auction organizers expect the bidding price to rise to as much as $1 million (£780,000); however, the winning bidder will not own the rights to the music, so he or she will not be able to distribute the recordings.
The album was obtained by a “personal assistant to Michael”, according to an auction house source, who also revealed the seller wishes to remain anonymous.
The Gotta Have Rock and Roll online auction will also feature hand-drawn self-portraits, clothing items, Jackson’s beloved teddy bear and even a Best Daddy in the World Oscar statuette the late King of Pop received as a gift from his three kids, Paris, Prince Michael, and Blanket.
The auction will also include a handwritten letter Tupac Shakur sent to Madonna, explaining his reasons for dumping her, while serving time behind bars in 1995.
