Handwritten lyrics to David Bowie’s ‘The Jean Genie’ have sold for £46,000 at auction.
The late music icon originally gave the lyric sheet of his 1972 hit from his LP, Aladdin Sane, to Neil Peters, founder of David Bowie’s fan club.
The lyrics hit hard at the Omega auction in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside.
Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said, “I am very pleased that this historic set of lyrics has won the auction.”
The A4 sheet bears the hitmaker’s signature and date on “Life on Mars”.
The latest Bowie lyric sale comes after the handwritten ‘Starman’ lyrics have sold for over £200,000.
The sheet, containing all the corrections and edits made by Starr himself, was put under the hammer in Australia and sold for a whopping £203,500, beating the original estimate of £40,000. Collection of the Museum of Old and New Tasmania (Mona).
Museum owner and founder David Walsh said of the sale: It will appear in the expanded library we are building now, along with many other items that we’ve been obsessed with and overpaid for. ”
Fairweather adds: For the sale he had five phone lines up and bidders were online and in the room.
“We are very pleased that we were able to achieve such an incredible price and are confident that the lyrics will be appreciated and cherished by the winning bidder.”
The lyric sheet has been owned by the same owner since the 1980s and was previously exhibited as part of the David Bowie Collection at the V and A Museum in London.
“Starman”, from Bowie’s fifth album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, catapulted the singer to international fame The achievements that have been pushed up are recognized.
Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016 at the age of 69.