The lost music of Marvin Gaye resurfaces in Belgium

Image source, Getty Images

By Kevin Connolly, Richard Crook and Bruno BoelpaepBBC News, Ostend

Since 40-year-old Marvin Gaye has enjoyed an enduring fame that he shares with only a handful of other artists - like Elvis or the Beatles.

They started their career by breaking records. on vinyl records, has survived the era of cassettes and CDs, and continues to thrive in the age of digital streaming.

It's been 40 years since Marvin Gaye died in Los Angeles - shot by his father in the middle of a violent domestic dispute.

But his music is still streamed and downloaded about 20 million times a month, and his classic duet with Tammi Terrell, Ain't No Mountain, has been streamed more than a billion times .

The value of a cache of audio tapes containing new material recorded by Marvin Gaye could therefore be enormous.

They are part of a strange trove of materials associated with the star, hidden in Belgium for more than forty years, but which may be about to make global headlines.

The story of Marvin's Belgian connection has been told before.

He lived in London and became...