David Bowie’s first-ever recording sells for over £39K

David Bowie’s first-ever studio recording has sold for almost quadruple the asking price.
The late music icon’s never released 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.
In July, 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.
On Tuesday (11.09.18), 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 ‘Starman’ hitmaker – who tragically passed away from cancer in January 2016 – 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.
Hadfield said: "David had no inclination to become a singer at this point, his heart and mind were focused on becoming a world class saxophone player.
"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.
"So in early 1963 I booked into RG Jones’ small studio in Morden. In preparation for the demo, David and our guitarist Neville Wills wrote two to three songs.
"We had decided that we would do a couple of guitar instrumentals and one original song. I chose ‘I Never Dreamed’ as it was the strongest, the other two were a bit weak.
"I also decided that David was the best person to sing it and give the right interpretation. So this became the very first recording of David [Bowie] singing 55 years ago."
Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said of the demo: "Significant recording, completely unique and of great historical interest, being the earliest studio recording of a fledgling musician who would go on to super stardom."
Other gold dust items at the auction held in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, included rare letters, bills, photographs and sketches by the ‘Heroes’ hitmaker.