Elton's garage clear-out

Sir Elton John is to have a £1 million house clearance sale. The singer said today he wants to empty his Holland Park home so that it can be remodelled - and that means he is disposing of everything in it, from furniture to books.

More than 400 items are expected to fetch upwards of £800,000 when they go on sale at Sotheby's on 30 September.

Sir Elton said today: "My love of contemporary art and photography is well-documented. I wanted to have the opportunity to display more contemporary work in one of my UK homes.

"But as my house in Windsor has a very traditional style, the obvious choice was to remodel my Holland Park home, both in terms of layout and interior design, to give me more scope for exhibiting this collection."

The rock star and philanthropist bought the Notting Hill house in 1992 and first used it when he started his successful rehabilitation from drugs and alcohol.

Every room in the house is crammed with objects bought by one of the biggest spenders in showbusiness (he once spent £40million in 20 months including, famously, £293,000 on flowers), so there has to be a major clear-out.

The sale will feature Biedermeier drawing-room furniture from the first quarter of the 19th century, including chests of drawers, chairs, console tables, an unusual long-case clock and an ebony secretaire estimated at up to £8,000 - and a suite of bedroom furniture by Viscount Linley. Pictures include Portrait Of A Lady With Her Son, attributed to Edward Bower, which is expected to make up to £30,000, and Portrait Of Elizabeth Honeywood from the circle of William Larkin, which should fetch up to £40,000.

From the library/gym and cinema come DVDs and video tapes. Furnishings include Venetian glass plus more pictures and furniture.

Art works from the dining room include two bronzes from the Italian sculptor Vincenzo Gemito and a £40,000 picture, Portrait of Lieutenant George Dyer by James Northcote.

Two items from Sir Elton's bedroom go under the hammer: a painting by French artist Jacques Noel Marie Fremy (£18,000) and a bust of Napoleon by Italian sculptor Ambrogio Colombo (£2,000).