The first known studio recording by David Bowie has been sold at auction for nearly £40,000 - quadruple its original estimated bid.
The 1963 tape, which was rejected by Decca Records, features a 16-year-old Bowie, then know as David Jones, singing "I Never Dreamed" with his first band The Konrads.
Bowie was originally the band's saxophonist but it was decided that he should sing lead vocals for the tape.
The band's drummer David Hadfield discovered the 18-minute recording in his loft, alongside other materials including booking forms, photographs, letters and bills.
"David had no inclination to become a singer at this point," he explained. "His heart and mind were focused on becoming a world-class saxophone player".
The tape was expected to reach £10,000 at auction, however Omega Auctions said it eventually sold for a total of £39,360 after a "bidding frenzy".
"There was certainly applause when the hammer went down," said Karen Fairweather, director of Omega Auctions. "It's a fantastic piece of history."
Promotional sketches by Bowie for The Konrads, along with the photographs and band documents, sold for £17,130. An early 1963 poster of the band sold for £6,600.
Auctioneer Paul Fairweather described the tape, which is believed to be the only one in existence, as a "significant recording, completely unique".
He said it offered new insight into Bowie as "a fledgling musician who would go onto super-stardom".
Bowie did indeed go onto become one of the most successful and renowned solo artists of all time, enjoying a 50-year career which saw him experiment with both genre and image.
He died in 2016 from cancer, two days after releasing his final album Black Star on his 69th birthday.
