The leather jacket worn by Michael Jackson to film a Pepsi ad nearly 40 years ago has sold at a London auction for £250,000 ($306,000).
Jackson wore the jacket to film a Pepsi ad in 1984, hot off the heels of his record-breaking success with the Thriller album. The Pepsi ads became notorious for an incident in which Jackson’s hair caught fire while filming, leaving him with serious burns. He later said his pain medication for his injuries was what triggered his dependence on prescription medication.
The jacket was one of more than 20 items, including a jacket originally worn by George Michael and a hairpiece belonging to Amy Winehouse, plus items connected to David Bowie, Oasis and The Beatles, that were sold at auction Friday.
Other items in the auction included ones linked to Elvis Presley, Queen and Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths. There was also a Gibson guitar that previously belonged to AC/DC’s Angus Young, and a limited edition Yellow Submarine Beatles jukebox.
George Michael’s jacket – seen in the video he recorded with Aretha Franklin for the hit I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) – sold for £93,750 ($115,000), a lot more than the highest guide price of £60,000.
This is not the first sale of memorabilia belonging to Jackson. A black fedora hat he wore just before debuting his distinctive moonwalk dance in 1983 was sold in September at auction in Paris for €77,640 (£67,088).
