JOHN LENNON
On display is a letter is from John Lennon to longtime Beatles publicist Derek Taylor. In it, John’s love of wordplay is on full display. The address at the top of the letter is for Lennon’s apartment at the Dakota in New York. A few short years after he wrote this letter, John was gunned down at that very address. Also displayed is a black turtleneck from John’s wardrobe.
JIMMY PAGE – LED ZEPPELIN
This oh-so-groovy purple brocade shirt was worn by the mightiest of rock guitar heroes – Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.
MICK JAGGER
Mick Jagger rolled with the Stones in these groovy velvet pants back in 1966.
ELVIS PRESLEY
The King rocked this black vest in the ‘70s and later gave it to longtime friend and member of the “Memphis Mafia”, Charlie Hodge.
BOY GEORGE – CULTURE CLUB
Though Boy George will be forever associated with the ultra-androgynous ‘80s “New Romantic” movement, he’s really a blue-eyed soul crooner at heart. He crafted this mat of dreadlocks into a sort of wig hat in the mid-‘80s.
CHRISTINA AGUILERA
This striped vest was worn by powerhouse vocalist and all-around pop phenomenon Christina Aguilera in a series of ads she did for Pepsi Cola. In the ads, Christina appears with South Korean superstar Rain.
A MEI
A Mei, the pride of Taiwan, is the undisputed queen of Mandarin pop. In a career that has dominated the Asian charts for over 15 years, A Mei has sold millions of records and even made inroads into western markets that are notoriously tough for Asian pop starts to break into. On display is the outfit she wore on the cover of her smash 2009 album AMIT.
SHAKIRA
There are plenty of pop stars who go through the motions of being charitable, but for many it’s just a stance to generate some good press and stay in the public eye. Shakira doesn’t fall into that group at all. The Colombian chanteuse set up the Pies Descalzos foundation in 1995 to help underprivileged children in Colombia and now feeds and educates over 4000 children in 5 schools across the country. Unlike so many pop star charities, Shakira’s foundation is making a dramatic difference in children’s lives every day. That’s why Hard Rock enthusiastically donated to Pies Descalzos. To show her appreciation, Shakira gave us her wardrobe from the Oral Fixation tour. This beaded bra is from the tour.
MADONNA No one can ever accuse Madonna of being a shy girl. In 1992, at the height of her fame, she released an elaborate coffee table book entitled Sex .The book was hugely controversial – and hugely successful. Madonna wore this leather bondage bikini in the book and also on the cover of Photo magazine.
DEPECHE MODE
English synthpop pioneers Depeche Mode are unquestionably among the most influential groups of all time and their singer, David Gahan, inspired an entire generation of fey frontmen. David wore this shirt and necklace onstage with the mighty Depeche Mode in the ‘90s.