Michael’s hat, shoes and T-shirt sold

The hat and shoes that Michael wore during a concert at Madison Square Garden in 2001, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the start of his solo career, were sold at Bonhams’ auction in London last Wednesday for £22,800 (US$37,300). The estimated price for selling these items was £10,000 to £12,000.

Michael performed two concerts on stage in New York on September 7 and 10, 2001. A film of these two concerts was officially broadcast on television two months later, on November 13, reaching 44 million viewers. That figure was considered a record.

Also, the T-shirt Michael wore in the 1983 video Beat It sold at a December 20 auction in Los Angeles for $20,740. Michael had given this T-shirt to Bradley Bennett, who at the time was an 11-year-old boy, and told him that he wore it while filming the Beat It video. Michael had met Bradley while attending a religious conference of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the San Fernando Valley in California. Bradley met Michael many times at the Jacksons’ home in Encino. Shortly after the release of Beat It, and after the third single from the Thriller album and the airing of its video on MTV, Michael gave this T-shirt to Bradley, who proudly wore it.

Other auction items included a carpet piece featuring Michael and his former wife Lisa Marie Presley, which had been given to them in 1994 as a wedding gift.

Source: eMJey / Herald Sun / Bonhams