Jackson auction kicks off

The auction of what is being described as the biggest collection of Jackson family memorabilia is under way in Las Vegas.

A Michael Jackson MTV award has already fetched $16,000 (£8,088), while gold disc awards for his album Off the Wall and the Jackson 5 single I Want You Back took $11,000 (£5,560) each, according to internet figures.

But many of the items sold through New York's Guernsey's auction house went under the hammer for merely a few hundred dollars.

A platinum record for the massively successful song Billie Jean was sold for just $100 (£50).

The collection of around 2,000 items was made available after Jackson's lawyers reached an agreement with a transportation company that owned the items and wanted to sell them. The singer had failed to put a stop to the sale.

The 48-year-old singer is now keen to get his career back on track since a California court acquitted him in 2005 of child molestation charges.

He reportedly approached Prince to accompany him for a comeback gig, but the Purple Rain singer is said to have turned him down because of his own touring obligations.

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