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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />What he found was an array of memorabilia relating to music legends Elton John and the band Queen. <br /><br />Late grandfather Dane was a hairdresser, wardrobe keep and friend to the musicians in the seventies and early eighties. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />“Dane was on a flight the very next day and stayed with them at Elton’s mansion in Beverly Hills. <br /><br />“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.” <br /><br />Footage shows a huge selection of items that include signed photos from Elton John, Kiki dee, and all of Queen. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />Christian also discovered one vinyl record that is signed by all the members of Queen. <br /><br />One piece of memorabilia that has particular value was a pair of braces that were actually worn by Elton himself while performing on stage. <br /><br /> “I have stage worn Elton John suspenders from the ‘Rock of the Westies’ tour in 1975. <br /><br />“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. <br /><br />“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.” <br /><br />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. <br /><br />“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. <br /><br />“I actually never knew of my grandpa’s adventures and travels until I was gifted his memorabilia. <br /><br />“I have however found existing family since posting on TikTok on Dane’s side I did not know about before. <br /><br />“His existing brothers and sisters have been so kind to tell me stories about my grandfather after finding my videos. <br /><br />“It was a huge shock! They said he was known for always smiling and had a wonderful life touring with the bands. <br /><br />“I know Dane would bring his sibling to Elton John concerts and they said it was always amazing! <br /><br />“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!” <br /><br />Despite the items being worth a lot of money, Christian is adamant that the sentimental value trumps all of that. <br /><br />“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. <br /><br />“I think one of the coolest items for me is his diary he had made and kept while he was touring with the bands. <br /><br />“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.” <br /><br />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. <br /><br />“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. <br /><br />“My goal is to open a physical Museum dedicated to him.”
