Kevin Hutchinson, who owned the recording that went on sale at Omega Auctions, is left 'in total disbelief' after it went under the hammer for more than four times of its initial expectation.
- March 14, 2019
AceShowbiz - An early David Bowie demo recording of his iconic tune "Starman" has been sold for $53,900 (£41,000) - more than four times what it was expected to fetch at auction.
The rock icon's guitarist Mick Ronson gave the 1971 tape to his pal Kevin Hutchinson to help him learn the song, who then packed it away in his loft and forgot about it for nearly 50 years.
Rare Bowie demo tape of 'Starman' goes for a song https://t.co/dy8ngFMhmZ
— Omega Auctions (@OmegaAuctions) March 12, 2019
The tape, which also contains versions of two more Bowie songs, "Moonage Daydream" and "Hang Onto Yourself", went on sale at Omega Auctions in Newton-le-Willows, Cheshire, on Tuesday, March 12, and was expected to fetch around $13,000 (£10,000).
However, it eventually went under the hammer for more than four times that amount.
The buyer, known only as Kelly, admitted it was more than she had wanted to pay for the item, but said she couldn't risk losing it.
"My limit was £20,000 but I'm impulsive and if I want something, I will have it," she told ITV News.
And Hutchinson was also stunned by the amount the demo fetched, telling the outlet, "When it hit £21,000 I was thinking, 'It's gonna stop now, it's gonna stop now'. And then it just kept on going, and going, and going. And when it hit £40,000 I was in total disbelief."
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust reel-to-reel tape sells for an amazing £41,000 GBP at @OmegaAuctionspic.twitter.com/JjJICNaXtd
— David Bowie Wonderworld (@bowieww) March 12, 2019
It's thought the tape might be the first existing version of "Starman", the most famous track on Bowie's beloved 1972 album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars".
