The first time David Bowie's voice was ever professionally put to tape was at a 1963 recording session with his teenage band The Konrads (previously written as The Kon-Rads). As the band's saxophone player, Bowie was used to performing behind lead singer Roger Harris.
But at a session on August 23, Konrads backup singer, guitarist, and songwriter Alan Dodds thought that Bowie's characterful voice would be perfect for his song "I Never Dreamed," even if he wasn't as technically great a singer as others in the band.
However, nothing much came of the session. Decca Records turned the band down, the master tapes were lost, and—long after Bowie had quit the Konrads and achieved pop stardom—all of the band members' personal copies of the record were feared lost. But Konrads drummer David Hadfield discovered a copy in a bread bin in his loft sometime in the 1990s, and shrewdly waited til now to put it up for sale.
Omega Auctions will be selling the only known vinyl record of Bowie's vocal debut in September. According to the auction house, they are expecting the single to sell for £10,000. "In addition to the tape, the historical collection illustrating Bowie's very early career, includes letters, bills, booking forms, photographs and promotional sketches," the auction house said in a statement. For more information, check out the Omega Auctions website here.
Update 9/12/2018: The recording of "I Never Dreamed" sold for almost four times the expected hammer price, fetching £39,360 at auction yesterday.