David Bowie's suit with cigarette burns only fetches £8k

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Bowie's beige suitImage source, Auction Antiques
Image caption,

Bowie's cigarette burns can be seen beneath the breast pocket

A suit that David Bowie discarded at the legendary Blitz club fetched far less than its owner expected.

Music producer Jayce Lewis, of Bridgend, inherited the suit from his friend Wales pop star Steve Strange, who owned the club in the early 80s.

Strange was a New Romantic pop movement pioneer, with his band Visage.

The suit - complete with cigarette burns - sold for around £8,000, but Mr Lewis had hoped it would fetch up to £15,000.

The winning bid came from a buyer in New York.

Image source, RCA Publicity
Image caption,

Music legend David Bowie died in 2016

Mr Lewis was left the suit by Strange, who died in 2015.

It had sat in his wardrobe since, but Mr Lewis rediscovered it while preparing for building work at his home.

On the night Bowie went to the Blitz, he was "not in the best of shape", he said, prompting Strange to arrange for him to enter the club through a back entrance.

Bowie sat down in a chair in Strange's office, in "such a slump" that "the insides of his cigarette fell out on to the suit and burnt the pocket along with a few other area".

The Thin White Duke then changed into a jacket and trousers, discarding the suit on the floor near the sofa, where it was forgotten about, he said.

"Steve spotted it later that night and took it home where it remained until his estate was sold," added Mr Lewis.