Ed Sheeran’s first demo record is expected to fetch £10,000 at auction.
The ‘Castle on the Hill’ hitmaker reportedly owns 19 of the existing 20 copies of ‘Spinning Man’ – which features songs he wrote when he was just 13 years old – but one lucky fan could own the final CD when it goes under the hammer next month.
Ed was making money from busking and staying on a family member’s sofa when he handed over a copy to one of his relative’s friends, and the unnamed person’s brother, Kevin, is now selling the record after it was found in a drawer.
Kevin – who did not give his surname – said: "My brother put it in a drawer and forgot about it.
"At the time Ed Sheeran was just this wee, ginger-haired busker and he thought nothing of it. He didn’t realise he would go on to be one of the world’s biggest pop stars."
The 48-year-old seller explained the songs "express teenage love and loss, frustration and longing" and he was impressed by how good they were.
He said: "The quality of the songs are really good and I was shocked by how good he was on the electric guitar. It does sound like Eric Clapton at moments.
"The fact that he was playing like that when he was 13, he must have been talented from the start."
Omega Auctions will sell the CD – which features cover photography by Ed’s dad – as part of a music memorabilia sale on 8 September and are expecting it to fetch £10,000.
Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: "We’re really excited to have the chance to sell what’s now an important artefact in contemporary music history, a milestone in the development of one of the world’s biggest pop stars."
The 29-year-old singer previously admitted he doesn’t want anyone to hear the record.
He revealed in his book ‘Ed Sheeran: A Visual Journey’: "In 2004, I made my very first album, ‘Spinning Man’, named after a picture that my dad had.
"I burnt the CDs myself and made the covers. There were 14 songs, and they were all songs that rhymed. One lyric went: ‘I’m a typical average teen if you know what I mean.’
"There are probably 20 copies of ‘Spinning Man’ in existence, and I have 19 of them. I don’t want anyone else to get hold of a copy."