Man inherits memorabilia left by late grandfather who used to be hairdresser for Elton John
- last year
A man has discovered a treasure trove of memorabilia left by his late grandfather who used to be a hairdresser and wardrobe keep for Elton John and members of Queen.
Christian Clark, 25, came across a bunch of boxes belongings to his late grandfather Dane Clark, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 59.
What he found was an array of memorabilia relating to music legends Elton John and the band Queen.
Late grandfather Dane was a hairdresser, wardrobe keep and friend to the musicians in the seventies and early eighties.
Christian explained: “Dane got a call at the end of 1973 from a guy named ‘Breck Wall’ who got Dane an interview for the position of Elton John’s hairdresser and wardrobe keep.
“Dane was on a flight the very next day and stayed with them at Elton’s mansion in Beverly Hills.
“Dane then went on to tour with Elton John in 1974 and thus opening the door to work with Queen during Queen’s very first U.S Tour.”
Footage shows a huge selection of items that include signed photos from Elton John, Kiki dee, and all of Queen.
Clothing like tour jackets with Dane’s name embroidered, tour t-shirts, hundreds of photos, and posters and tour itineraries were also found in the boxes.
Christian also discovered one vinyl record that is signed by all the members of Queen.
One piece of memorabilia that has particular value was a pair of braces that were actually worn by Elton himself while performing on stage.
“I have stage worn Elton John suspenders from the ‘Rock of the Westies’ tour in 1975.
“There is also a large six-foot pavilion Paris France 1978 poster signed by the band members and production team for Queen including Freddie Mercury and his at-the-time girlfriend Mary.
“I know this was a parting gift after parting with Queen, I also have a decent amount of signed photos, as well as a signed menu, and vinyl from Queen.”
Christian was given the relics after his grandfather’s passing, but never got to hear the stories from the man himself about his antics with the world-famous musicians.
“Unfortunately, my father passed when I was seven and Dane passed away when I was eight years old so I never heard stories from him.
“I actually never knew of my grandpa’s adventures and travels until I was gifted his memorabilia.
“I have however found existing family since posting on TikTok on Dane’s side I did not know about before.
“His existing brothers and sisters have been so kind to tell me stories about my grandfather after finding my videos.
“It was a huge shock! They said he was known for always smiling and had a wonderful life touring with the bands.
“I know Dane would bring his sibling to Elton John concerts and they said it was always amazing!
“They also told me Dane had a relationship with Elvira for a short period of time and she even wrote about him in her book! I thought that was pretty cool!”
Despite the items being worth a lot of money, Christian is adamant that the sentimental value trumps all of that.
“I am currently working on getting everything appraised, I have heard people speculate my collection is worth thousands if not millions, however to me these items are priceless and hold so much value and sentiment.
“I think one of the coolest items for me is his diary he had made and kept while he was touring with the bands.
“He started the diary the day he got a call to work for Elton John, so it’s cool to hear from his perspective his story.”
Christian, who is a businessman Medford, Oregon, is hoping to bring awareness to the work his grandfather Dane did and is planning on creating a museum dedicated to his work.
“My main goal was to get him the recognition he deserved, because of his untimely passing there was little recognition of him online including both of the big movies for Elton & Queen.
“My goal is to open a physical Museum dedicated to him.”
Christian Clark, 25, came across a bunch of boxes belongings to his late grandfather Dane Clark, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 59.
What he found was an array of memorabilia relating to music legends Elton John and the band Queen.
Late grandfather Dane was a hairdresser, wardrobe keep and friend to the musicians in the seventies and early eighties.
Christian explained: “Dane got a call at the end of 1973 from a guy named ‘Breck Wall’ who got Dane an interview for the position of Elton John’s hairdresser and wardrobe keep.
“Dane was on a flight the very next day and stayed with them at Elton’s mansion in Beverly Hills.
“Dane then went on to tour with Elton John in 1974 and thus opening the door to work with Queen during Queen’s very first U.S Tour.”
Footage shows a huge selection of items that include signed photos from Elton John, Kiki dee, and all of Queen.
Clothing like tour jackets with Dane’s name embroidered, tour t-shirts, hundreds of photos, and posters and tour itineraries were also found in the boxes.
Christian also discovered one vinyl record that is signed by all the members of Queen.
One piece of memorabilia that has particular value was a pair of braces that were actually worn by Elton himself while performing on stage.
“I have stage worn Elton John suspenders from the ‘Rock of the Westies’ tour in 1975.
“There is also a large six-foot pavilion Paris France 1978 poster signed by the band members and production team for Queen including Freddie Mercury and his at-the-time girlfriend Mary.
“I know this was a parting gift after parting with Queen, I also have a decent amount of signed photos, as well as a signed menu, and vinyl from Queen.”
Christian was given the relics after his grandfather’s passing, but never got to hear the stories from the man himself about his antics with the world-famous musicians.
“Unfortunately, my father passed when I was seven and Dane passed away when I was eight years old so I never heard stories from him.
“I actually never knew of my grandpa’s adventures and travels until I was gifted his memorabilia.
“I have however found existing family since posting on TikTok on Dane’s side I did not know about before.
“His existing brothers and sisters have been so kind to tell me stories about my grandfather after finding my videos.
“It was a huge shock! They said he was known for always smiling and had a wonderful life touring with the bands.
“I know Dane would bring his sibling to Elton John concerts and they said it was always amazing!
“They also told me Dane had a relationship with Elvira for a short period of time and she even wrote about him in her book! I thought that was pretty cool!”
Despite the items being worth a lot of money, Christian is adamant that the sentimental value trumps all of that.
“I am currently working on getting everything appraised, I have heard people speculate my collection is worth thousands if not millions, however to me these items are priceless and hold so much value and sentiment.
“I think one of the coolest items for me is his diary he had made and kept while he was touring with the bands.
“He started the diary the day he got a call to work for Elton John, so it’s cool to hear from his perspective his story.”
Christian, who is a businessman Medford, Oregon, is hoping to bring awareness to the work his grandfather Dane did and is planning on creating a museum dedicated to his work.
“My main goal was to get him the recognition he deserved, because of his untimely passing there was little recognition of him online including both of the big movies for Elton & Queen.
“My goal is to open a physical Museum dedicated to him.”