Demos for two of Madonna's biggest hits have been released by a collaborator in an attempt to thwart an auction of her personal items.
Songwriter Patrick Leonard, who co-wrote many of the Queen of Pop's hits, uploaded early versions of Like A Prayer and Cherish, both from the Like A Prayer album, on to YouTube on Monday (22Jul19). Both were apparently recorded the day they were written.
He is hoping the release will prevent bids on cassettes of the star's unreleased recordings, which are being sold by the star's former art adviser Darlene Lutz.
"I hope these posts stop the sale of that cassette at auction," he wrote on YouTube. "Not cool at all that someone would sell it. Not theirs to sell."
Her former associate is also attempting to sell other personal effects, including a break-up letter from her late rapper ex Tupac Shakur, a hairbrush with strands of her hair and a "stage-worn" La Perla bra, through online auction company Gotta Have Rock and Roll.
Madonna tried to stop the auction by filing an emergency court order in 2017, claiming she did not know how Lutz came by the items, but a Manhattan judge ruled earlier this month that the sale could go ahead, and it is scheduled to end on Friday.
The highest bid for the Like A Prayer demos currently stands at $1,283 (£1,031). The letter from Tupac is listed at a minimum price of $100,000 (£80,000), but is yet to attract any bids.
Leonard also shared the previously unreleased track, Angels With Dirty Faces, online.
