A TREASURE trove of rare items once belonging to the King of Pop went under the hammer in Stourbridge at the weekend.

Pieces of pop history from the ‘Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration, The Solo Years' concert - the superstar singer’s last two US concerts held at Madison Square Garden in September 2001 - were the star lots in a massive music, movies and memorabilia auction staged by Fieldings Auctioneers.

Two signed stage worn fedora hats, personal letters and autographed items owned by Jacko and The Jackson 5 were among items featured in the sale held on Saturday November 16.

A number of the items were offered for sale by American music producer and TV star David Gest, a long-time friend of Jackson who helped produce the pop star’s anniversary celebration - which became the highest rated musical TV special in history.

The star lot was a one-off framed printer’s proof for the cover artwork of the invitation for the ‘Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration’ concert which sold for £6,720.

Signed twice by Jackson and featuring photographs of the superstar singer, it was a gift from Jacko to Gest as the singer helped design the artwork.

A stage worn white wool Fedora signed in black felt pen: All My Love Michael Jackson xxx, sold for £4,800; while a stage worn black wool Fedora signed in silver pen with the words ‘To David All My Love Michael Jackson 1998’ sold for £3,840.

Auctioneer Will Farmer said: “The Jackson lots that successfully sold realised just shy of £30,000.

“The concert artwork and black fedora were successfully purchased by an American collector who sent a UK agent to the saleroom to bid on their behalf.

“The white fedora was eventually won by a UK bidder and long-time fan of Jackson.”

Collectors from around the world registered interest in the sale which also included memorabilia linked to big name entertainers including The Beatles, Lady GaGa, The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, Sonny & Cher and The Supremes.

Among the Motown memorabilia was a presentation platinum disc, formerly owned by Cindy Birdsong of The Supremes, which sold for just over £1,000, and a framed set of autographs by The Supremes which went for £500, plus autographs by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, the Four Tops, David Ruffin, The Temptations, The Jackson 5 and others.

The sale also incuded original classic movie posters, autographs and signed documents from Hollywood legends including Bette Davis, Jane Russell, Ava Gardener and Shirley Temple plus memorabilia relating to contemporary artists including Liam Neeson, Mark Hamill and Sharon Stone.

Mr Farmer said: “This was our first dedicated music and movie memorabilia sale and it attracted a new audience from far and wide.”

Due to its huge success another large-scale sale featuring Michael Jackson and Beatles memorabilia is now being planned.