A sheet of paper containing David Bowie’s handwritten lyrics to two songs from one of his most acclaimed albums could fetch more than $125,000 when it’s sold at auction early next week.
One side of the “irregularly cut” piece of paper bears the lyrics to “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide,” while the other side contains the lyrics for “Suffragette City” — both with corrections, notations and footnotes.
The tracks are from the late artist’s fifth studio album, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” released in June 1972.
The lyric sheet is one of many pieces of rock history that will be up for sale by London’s Omega Auctions on Tuesday. It’s expected to fetch between 50,000 to 100,000 pounds ($63,000 to $126,000), according to a news release.
Often praised by music fans as one of Bowie’s most important albums, “Ziggy Stardust” is a concept album about Bowie’s titular alter ego, an androgynous and omnisexual rock star sent to Earth as a messenger ahead of an inevitable apocalyptic disaster.
“Suffragette City” was released as the B-side of the album’s lead single “Starman” in April 1972, while “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” was released as a single two years later.
The handwritten lyrics to “Starman,” which were expected to sell for 30,000 pounds ($38,000), sold for 165,000 pounds ($208,000) in September 2022.
The piece of paper set to be sold next week dates to the final recording sessions for “Ziggy Stardust,” Omega Auctions said. It was among several paper sheets given to its original owner by Bowie at Trident Studio in London.
The now-historic documents were used by the music publisher to prepare the lyric sheet that was printed on the album’s inner record bag.
A handwritten note at the bottom of the “Suffragette City” page also informs the publisher of two more songs Bowie was considering for the album, “It Ain’t Easy” and “Round and Round.”
Omega Auction’s upcoming “Showcase Sale – Guitars, Music Memorabilia and Rare Vinyl Records,” will get underway Tuesday at 5 a.m.
