The handwritten lyrics to David Bowie’s classic single ‘The Jean Genie’ have sold for £57,000 at auction.
Titled, dated and signed by the late icon, the lined A4 sheet was given to Neal Peters when he was President of the New York-based David Bowie Fan Club in 1973.
- READ MORE: The Oral History of David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’
Dan Hampson of Omega Auctions in Merseyside says the former owner decided to sell the piece of music history after seeing Bowie’s lyrics ‘Starman’ fetch £203,500 at auction in 2022 (via BBC News ).
The presale estimate for the lyrics to “Jean Genie” ranged from £50,000 to £70,000.
“We are very pleased with the price obtained for this historic set of letters,” auctioneer Paul Fairweather said after the sale.
Additionally, the lot included a 2009 letter on stationery from the Neal Peters collection, detailing how Bowie gifted Peters with song lyrics, as well as numerous photocopied fan club materials.
Released in November 1972, “The Jean Genie” was the lead single from Bowie’s sixth studio album, “Aladdin Sane” (1973). The song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart.
A special 50th anniversary reissue of “Aladdin Sane” is coming in April. The disc will be released as a half-speed mastered LP and an LP picture disc pressed from the same master.
To commemorate the announcement, a 4K remastered version of the music video for “The Jean Genie” was shared last month.
Bowie’s daughter recently released a home video to mark the seventh anniversary of the legendary entertainer’s death.
The singer died on January 10, 2016 after privately living with cancer for 18 months. Bowie had released his 26th and final studio album, “Blackstar”, on his 69th birthday, two days earlier (January 8).