A tape of Sir Rod Stewart’s first studio recording, which helped secure his first record deal, is to be sold at auction by his former manager.

Jonathan Rowlands, 83, said the 15IPS analogue tape was sent to Decca Records as an audition recording in 1964, and the result was Sir Rod’s first recording contract.

Read more:

The tape, being sold as a collector’s item only and with no intellectual property rights, has a pre-auction estimate of £500 to £1,000.

Sir Rod, who lives in Essex, has sold more than 250 million records worldwide. 

Mr Rowlands, of Bakewell, Derbyshire, said: "The tape will make someone very happy.

"The tape was used as audition material for a future recording contract for Rod with Decca Records.

"We had got lucky finding out about Pepe Rush's studio that was hidden in the basement of a shop in Berwick Street, Soho."

Martin Millard, a director at Cheffins, said: "There are armies of Rod Stewart fans across the world, and this tape is an opportunity for someone to own the seminal recording which would go on to propel his career skywards.

"He is one of the most loved artists of the past century, and this is a chance for someone to buy a part of musical history."

The tape is to be sold as part of the Art and Design Sale at Cheffins in Cambridge on Thursday, February 23.