Unique Rod Stewart tape demo 'that can't be played' expected to fetch £1,000

A tape of Sir Rod Stewart's first studio recording is expected to fetch up to £1,000 at auction - despite the fact it cannot be played.

The tape, being sold by his first manager, helped secure Sir Rod's first record deal after it was sent to Decca Records.

The recording was made as an audition tape and is being sold at Cheffins Auctioneers of Cambridge, where it is estimated it will fetch between £500 and £1,000.

It was made on 18 June 1964 in the basement studio of engineer Pepe Rush in Berwick Street in Soho in central London.

But because of its age, the tape is so fragile that auctioneers do not dare playing it in its current state - though it is thought that it can be restored through a heating technique known as baking.

The tape's tracklisting includes Just Like I Treat You, Moppers Blues, Bright Lights Big City, Keep Your Hands Off Her, Don't Tell Nobody, Ain't That Loving You Baby, and Worksong.

Sir Rod's former manager Jonathan Rowlands said the tape would "make someone very happy".

He said Sir Rod, who now lives near Harlow in Essex, was around 18 at the time.

"In those days, you couldn't sign a management contract until you were 21, so I had visited his parents in Highgate (north London) to ask them to sign on his behalf," he said.

Mr Rowlands added: "We knew Rod was something special from the word go.

"He had that absolute star quality which he shares with the likes of Tom Jones and Elton John, which has allowed them to stay relevant in the music industry even after all of these years."

Cheffins director Martin Millard said: "There are armies of Rod Stewart fans across the world, and this tape is an opportunity for someone to own the seminal recording which would go on to propel his career skywards."

"He is one of the most loved artists of the past century, and this is a chancefor someone to buy a part of musical history."

The tape will be sold at Cheffins in Cambridge on Thursday 23rd February.

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