Jackson glove makes £212,000 at auction

Published on Sunday 22 November 2009 22:12

THE white glove Michael Jackson wore at his first "moonwalk" dance performance in 1983 has sold for £212,000 at auction.

Winning bidder Hoffman Ma of Hong Kong will pay 254,000, including taxes and fees, for the rhinestone-studded, modified golf glove Jackson wore on his left hand for Motown's 25th anniversary TV special.

The glove was the top item in a collection of Jackson memorabilia on the block at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. Its pre-auction estimate was 24,000 to 36,000. "It was a fairly good discount," said Mr Ma, a 36-year-old Jackson fan who bought the pop-music treasure on behalf of the Ponte 16 Resort Hotel in Macau. As the price of the glove soared, fans roared and squealed, echoing the kind of frenzy that accompanied the late pop star when he was on tour.

One fan, Brendan Doyle, said: "That's what death brings upon celebrity. Jackson's death was such a tragedy at such a young age that it pushed up prices."

The pop icon, who died on 25 June aged 50, had given the glove to Walter "Clyde" Orange, of Seventies singing group the Commodores.

And a jacket that Jackson wore on his 1989 Bad tour fetched 136,000 – 20 times its estimate of 4,800.

The sale took place at Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions. It included a fedora Jackson wore for the moonwalk. It sold for 13,000.

Fan Linda Derogene said she was willing to spend 3,000 for a Jackson memento .