Mar 16, 2016
For just $20,000, you could be the owner of a cassette tape dating back to the 1970s that contains three previously unreleased Prince songs!
The auction is being sponsored by Prince's first wife Mayte Garcia, former manager Owen Husney, and former Prince guitarist/collaborator Dez Dickinson. The tape was originally given to Dickinson and contains six songs on each side.
In the lot description, Dickinson says that Side A features, "6 songs by Prince, 3 of which are unreleased and 3 are unique versions of songs that Prince would ultimately release."
"The Side B, containing Prince's songs, opens with an early, acoustic version of 'So Blue', followed by two unreleased love songs with bouncy, upbeat choruses and risque lyrics. Next is an early version of 'Gotta Broken Heart Again', which later appeared on Prince's seminal Dirty Mind album. The fourth track features heavy guitar distortion and a chorus that include very candid sexual pleas from Prince. The tape ends with a very early, virtually unrecognizable version of 'Sometimes it Snows in April.'"
This cassette is one of multiple Prince items currently being auctioned off. His engagement ring is set to sell for $100,000 and a 1959 Gibson L-Series guitar which Prince used on early demos will cost you $60,000. In total, 95 items are up for auction from Garcia, Husney, and Dickinson. Included in the lot is numerous costumes and scarves worn by Prince during concerts and a bunch of Garcia and Prince's wedding china.
The auction for the tape is set to end on March 17 and currently has zero bids.
Below is an image of the cassette tape that is featured on the auction website.
Image: Ebet Roberts/Redferns