A rare unreleased David Bowie demo is set to go under the hammer this week.
‘I Do Believe I Love You’ is being sold in Chippenham on Friday (24.07.20) and is anticipated to fetch up to £5,000 ($6,327).
The demo is said to have been recorded when the late music icon – who passed away in 2016 at the age of 69 – signed up to Orbit Music as a songwriter in 1966.
A seller in London came across the recording in his back catalogue.
Other rare items belonging to the ‘Starman’ hitmaker, which are set to be sold at Wessex Auction Rooms, include an autographed copy of Bowie’s 1970 LP ‘The Man Who Sold The World’.
Auctioneer Martin Hughes told BBC News: "As one of only a few people in the world who have heard the recording, I am still amazed that this musical treasure has been uncovered after all of these years.
"David Bowie is one of the most iconic artists of all time, and I am sure that this item is going to create a buzz around the globe amongst fans of Bowie as well as collectors of pop culture."
A number of demos and rare recordings by the ‘Life on Mars’ singer have been auctioned off since his death.
Bowie’s first-ever studio recording sold for almost quadruple the asking price in 2018.
The 1963 demo of his first band The Konrads’ track ‘I Never Dreamed’ features the vocals of a 16-year-old Bowie, and was rejected by Decca Records.
Bowie’s former Konrads bandmate, David Hadfield, put the sought-after recording up for sale along with a whole host of unique memorabilia, after discovering them in a bread basket owned by his grandfather.
Omega Auctions put the items under the hammer causing a "bidding frenzy", and the tape, which was estimated to fetch around £10,000, sold for £39,360.
The ‘Let’s Dance’ hitmaker left the band citing creative differences not long after the demo was made, and six years later he established himself as a star with the release of ‘Space Oddity’.
Bowie had been the band’s saxophone player, and it was only on ‘I Never Dreamed’ that he recorded vocals for the first time, and led to them securing the audition with Decca.