Michael Jackson’s leather jacket from his 1984 Pepsi commercial is to be auctioned off.
Propstore will be selling the custom-made black and white jacket and over 200 original pieces of music memorabilia on November 10 in one of the biggest ever sales of entertainment collectors’ items.
Bids on the late King of Pop’s garment – which has no size or manufacturer label – will start at £100,000, but estimates predict it will fetch between £200,000 and £400,000.
For the advertisement filmed in New York City, Michael changed his 1983 hit single ‘Billie Jean’ to create a jingle referencing Pepsi’s ‘New Generation’ of customers, which co-starred a 12-year-old Alfonso Ribeiro before he found fame on ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’
Michael starred in the commercial with his brothers from the Jackson Five and they earned a reputed $5 million – a record fee at the time – from PepsiCo in 1983.
The jacket is being sold by Wendell Thompson who was gifted the item when he met the pop legend in 1980 aged 12.
Thompson — whose father was Jackson’s hairdresser in Florida — was given the piece of pop history in December 1983 when he was visiting Orlando for the opening of the Michael Jackson room at the Hotel Royal Plaza, originally named The Royal Inn and now called B Resort Spa.
Thompson’s auction lot also includes the original Polaroid photo of him receiving the jacket, a hand-signed photo from Jackson, ‘The Making of Thriller’ book, ‘Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller’ LaserDisc and Pepsi set pics.
When filming a second Pepsi commercial with his siblings, Michael’s hair caught fire after a pyrotechnics effect went wrong and he sustained second degree burns on his scalp. The incident has been attributed to the start of the ‘Man in the Mirror’ hitmaker’s painkiller addiction, a struggle that lasted up until his death on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50 from “acute Propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication.”
The memorabilia auction will also include items from other music legends including Amy Winehouse’s iconic beehive from the ‘You Know I’m No Good’ music video, and George Michael’s La Rocka jacket from ‘I knew You Were Waiting (For Me)’, on which he sang with Aretha Franklin.
David Bowie’s original ‘Liza Jane’ single test pressing, and John Lennon’s belt buck from the ‘Lost Weekend’ period will also be available.
