Label under the hammer
Udo Jürgens’ wing brings 240,000 euros in auction
Offered with 66, where life begins? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. For souvenirs from music legend Udo Jürgens, more than 3000 commandments were received at an auction. A bathrobe also has a new owner.
A glass concert wing from the estate of pop star Udo Jürgens brought in 240,000 euros at an auction – and thus the multiple of his estimation price. An Austrian collector and Udo-Jürgens fan was awarded the famous musical instrument, as the Sotheby’s auction house announced. The originally valued cost of the plexiglass wing was 20,000 to 30,000 euros.
However, the instrument, including the piano stool, can also be considered to be true precondition for Udo-Jürgens fans. In many appearances, the wing had accompanied the musician (“Merci Chérie”, “Greek Wine”), who died in 2014). For his album “Dream Dancer”, Jürgens even let the wing fly from a helicopter to the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps in 1983. There he played on the instrument in the middle of the snow – “I’ve never frozen,” he said afterwards.
Sotheby’s had auctioned the wing together with many other memorabilia from the singer’s estate and composer. The demand developed rapidly. A total of 3,150 bids were given by almost 400 bidders. The surcharge often switched from one bidder to another.
In the end, the overall result was around 1.7 million euros – far above the preliminary estimate of 370,000 to 500,000 euros for the entire collection. The Udo Jürgens Foundation is to be supported with part of the proceeds.
A bathrobe for 26,400 euros
In addition to the wing, other souvenirs also achieved high prices. For a white bathrobe – another trademark of the musician in which he enveloped himself at the end of his concerts – someone paid 26,400 euros. That was 176 times the lower estimation price (150 to 200 euros). A “Starfighter” flight helmet worn by Jürgens, in which the German Air Force had taken him at a height of 10,000 meters, was gone for 31,200 euros before (estimated price before: 1,000 to 2,000 euros).
Interested parties were also found for quilted shoes of the singer (“Stage-Worn”, i.e. worn on stage). They brought 10,800 euros – after they were initially estimated at 150 to 250 euros.
dpa
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
