A London apartment once home to reggae icon Bob Marley is on sale for £1.65 million (more than $2 million). The four-bedroom apartment is located in a Victorian mansion block in Bloomsbury. The Jamaican artiste lived in Ridgmount Gardens in 1972 when he first came to London to seek fame and fortune.
At the time, Marley was not the reggae icon he became. He came to London at the invitation of American soul singer Johnny Cash to support his UK Tour. Marley and his band The Wailers played gigs around the capital to try and land a big record deal.
“They ultimately met Chris Blackwell, owner of independent Island Records which led to international success and fame for the reggae stars,” according to Metro.
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The home is being offered for sale through Dexters. It is set behind a red-brick façade and has high ceilings, wooden flooring, and an ornate fireplace. The apartment has four bedrooms with large windows overlooking the communal gardens.
“In 2006 for Black History Month, a blue cultural heritage plaque for Marley was unveiled at Ridgmount Gardens by The Nubian Jak Community Trust and Mayor Ken Livingstone, celebrating it as the first London home of the ‘singer, lyricist and Rastafarian icon’,” Metro reported.
“This well-presented apartment is a fantastic example of why Ridgmount Gardens has built such a reputation as one of Bloomsbury’s premier properties. The spacious and flexible living space is made even more attractive by the communal gardens and greenery,” Alison Battrick of Dexters in Marylebone said.
The sale of Marley’s London apartment comes exactly 40 years after he passed away. His death on May 11, 1981, came as a shock to many across the world. The iconic musician reportedly died at age 36 en route to Jamaica at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida.
Marley was born on February 6, 1945, to February 6, 1945, Cedella Malcolm in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. When his father, a white Jamaican from Sussex, England, died in 1955, his mom moved to Trenchtown and re-married.
His music career started in 1963 when he formed The Wailers with Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith. Although the group disbanded in 1974, it is remembered for its hit song “Simmer Down.”
Marley pursued a solo career and released his first album titled “Exodus” in 1977. He released 13 studio albums and six live albums and singles such as “Redemption Song,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “One Love,” and “Get Up, Stand Up.”
Despite his demise some 40 years ago, the reggae king’s estate is quite profitable. Forbes listed Marley among the highest-paid dead celebrities in the world. According to the Forbes list, the reggae artiste saw his music streams soar, accumulating over a billion spins worldwide. “House of Marley, his line of speakers, turntables, and headphones, and sales of T-shirts and lighters adorned with his likeness also added more than $3 million to his coffers,” Forbes reported.
In total, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $14 million, making him the eighth highest-paid dead celebrity. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Marley was worth $11.5 million at the time of his death, which is equivalent to $32 million in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars.
Celebrity Net Worth also notes that there are millions of dollars worth of unauthorized and authorized products using Marley’s music and image rights. The unauthorized and authorized licensing fees amount to $500 million of revenue annually.
