If you have a spare £25,000 sitting around, you could own a piece of reggae royalty — literally.
A dreadlock from the head of the late Bob Marley is currently up for auction, and it is not just any lock of hair. The listing describes it as the first genuine example of Bob Marley’s hair to come up for sale in 20 years — which also confirms, interestingly, that this has happened before.
The story behind how it was acquired is pure 1970s magic. The consignor got the lock as a teenager at the filming of Top of the Pops at BBC’s Television Centre in London on June 22, 1978. Back then, audience members were permitted to go up on stage after performances. After Marley finished singing, the consignor approached him, asked if they could take a piece of his hair, and Marley — apparently amused — just kept nodding and chuckling while they twisted a piece off.
He then signed an autograph on the spot. Written in blue ballpoint pen, it reads: “To Andrea, Love Bob Marley.”
The lot includes the dreadlock, the autograph, and a Top of the Pops promotional flyer from that same taping — a night that also featured performances by Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and Heatwave.
The opening bid is set at £5,000, with bidding expected to reach around £25,000. The auction closes April 9.
For Jamaica, this is more than a curiosity. Marley’s legacy remains one of the island’s greatest cultural exports, and moments like this — however unusual — are reminders of just how far his reach extended, even in a single evening in a London TV studio nearly 50 years ago.
