Tapes of Madonna’s erotic phone call on sale in Internet auction

Gotta Have It!, The Internet Rock and Roll and other memorabilia and auction site, has opened a mammoth auction to the public. It contains over 500 lots, from Ali’s ring dressing gown to Hendrix’s first stage contract to, well, Madonna’s messages.

The Rock & Roll Pop Art Auction is accepting bids from July 27 to Aug 5 and, like any auction, has its prized lots. There are many items from many different artists, so before checking out Madonna’s tapes, here is a selection of what’s to be had for those in the money. No self-respecting Rock and Roll pop art auction would not include Beatles items of course, so you might want to bid for one of several Beatles jackets, prices from $15 000 to $50 000, a psychedelic Lennon scarf, pricey at $15 000 but very flashy, or one of several signed records or other memorabilia. My pick? A handwritten letter by Lennon to The Elephants, a backing band he used for concerts with Yoko Ono. The text reads: "Dear Elephants, It’s costing too much bread to keep you on a retainer and we have no plans to tour or anything ’money making!’ I hope you enjoyed yourselves (we did) Your names known enough now to keep you going.....”. There are 136 Beatles items in all. If you like jackets but can’t afford one from the Beatles, you can still wow ‘em with an Elvis Presley jacket. Presley sells for less than the Fab Four so you could pick one up for $2000. Peanuts. Jagger jackets are worth just a measly $1 500, not surprisingly given the over-flashy styles, but there’s a good bargain to be had at $2 000 in the form of the original and controversial ‘Beggar’s Banquet’ ‘toilet’ artwork that was changed to something safer after just a few thousand album sales. Musicians might like to sling their guitar around their neck using a Dylan silver-studded leather guitar strap, and $2 200 will buy you a signed harmonica, although they don’t say what key it’s in. Still, if it was Dylan’s harmonica you can just change the key of your song to fit. You can have a Jimi Hendrix guitar strap too, they cost more and are of the thin and simple standard Gibson type he often used, but if it helps you play like him, who cares? So you are a drummer? How about a pair of Keith Moon drumsticks? They were made by Premier and the catalogue says they were hardly used, but knowing how violently Moon played, I personally think that their pristine condition means they were never used. $700 should be enough to buy them. A poignant reminder of Janis Joplin’s life is on sale for over $1000. It’s a love letter sent to her boyfriend, Peter de Blanc in 1965 during a lull in her touring and recording schedule. In it she says that loving him is the "best thing that ever happened to me (Did I say that?!)." Back to jackets. This one’s not for me because I don’t have the massive chest and bulging biceps that Bruce Springsteen had during his Born in the USA tour, so if you are a hunky guy you can pick up this blue denim number starting at $6000. The Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Metallica and Eminem are just a few of the other artists whose memorabilia is to be seen at the auction, and there is a section devoted to Rhythm and Blues too, but the most prized lot here comes from Madonna. There are a few sexy stage outfits of course, but lot N°# 305 is where it’s really at. Madonna’s reputation as a hot lady will surely be enhanced by this collection of tapes containing some of her erotic telephone conversations with then boyfriend Jim Albright. These micro-cassettes come from Albright’s answering machine and go back to 1992 – 1993. There are 17 minutes of conversation and the tapes are being sold as collectibles, from one collector to another. They cost just a little more than a yellow-page erotic call. $30 to $40 thousand dollars minimum means that some guy will shortly be able to press play, close his eyes, and wonder why he wasn’t at the Lamplight Club the night she met Albright there. I just phoned my bank manager for a loan for the Madonna tapes. His answer “A loan? Are you kidding? I just bid $35 000 for them!” Huh, well, I still have her albums I suppose. Now it’s time for you to take your pick, and good luck with your bids.