A rare copy of Ed Sheeran’s first-ever demo — called Spinning Man — auctioned for $80,000 in Lancashire, England on Wednesday.
Recorded in 2005 when the 29-year-old was a student at Thomas Mills School in Framlingham, Suffolk, it features nine previously unreleased tracks and is just one of a handful of Sheeran’s schoolyard CDs to remain in existence.
“It was the very first demo tape that he did, and he sold them at school for £5 ($6) each,” Karen Fairweather from Omega Auctions tells PEOPLE about the rare CD, adding that the auction house was “completely blown away” with the price it eventually reached.
“When he became famous, I think he tried to get them all back,” she continues. “According to Ed there were around 20 of them and he’s quoted as saying that he’s now got 19. But I think there’s a couple more still out there somewhere. Five tracks were released a few years later, so of the 14 tracks, there’s nine that have never been heard. That’s why it’s such an interesting piece.”
(PEOPLE)