Unknown Jagger-Lennon track up for auction
A long lost musical collaboration between Mick Jagger and John Lennon was today being auctioned more than a quarter of a century after it was recorded.
The track, a cover of the blues song Too Many Cooks, was recorded with Jagger on vocals, Lennon on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums in 1974, but was never released.
It has been described as “dynamite” and features a full horn section as well as the unmistakable voice of the Rolling Stones legend and is expected to fetch up to £1,500 (€2,226) at the Cooper Owen Gallery, central London.
The unlabelled acetate – a record made directly from a master tape – was buried at the bottom of a box of records bought by Tom Fisher, 34, who runs Rat Records in Camberwell, south London, for just £20 (€30) four years ago.
He bought it from a man in west London claiming to be a friend of Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood.
“The guy claimed Ronnie Wood had given him a load of records and I didn’t know whether to believe him or not,” he said.
“But I took the gamble, and then noticed that some of the records were signed ‘R Wood’ on the back.
“This one looked blank and was a bit dog-eared so I didn’t listen to it for ages but as soon as I heard it I knew it was a big thing.”
It was sent to London auctioneers Copper Owen who, Mr Fisher said, sent it to Jagger’s agent for verification.
Jagger is said to have personally verified it as genuine and said it was recorded while Lennon was estranged from Yoko Ono – the so-called “Lost Weekend” period – at a session called The Birthday Bash for Jim Keltner at the Record Plant studios in New York.
David Bowie and Lou Reed are also thought to have been present.
Too Many Cooks was written by songwriter Willie Dixon and the auction house describes the Jagger/Lennon version as a “funky blues-style track”.
Mr Fisher is hoping it will fetch more than the recommended £1,500 (€2,226)but admits that whatever it goes for will bring him “substantial returns”.
“It really is a good song and I’d love people to hear it,” he said.
Ted Owen, co-founder of Cooper Owen auctioneers, said the track had been grossly underestimated and was worth up to £10,000 (€15,000).
He described it as “pure dynamite” and said if it was released it would go straight to number one.
The 10in acetate will go on sale as part of Copper Owen’s Rock Legends auction.
Other items on sale include a hand-written poem by Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix’s famous white Fender Stratocaster.
