The $2.1m mansion being sold by singer Norwood Young because it's more famous than he is!

The singer selling his statue-festooned $2.1m LA mansion...because it's more famous than he is

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He came in search of fame and fortune - a singer with a dream of seeing his name up in lights in Los Angeles, the capital of showbusiness.

Norwood Young got the fortune, he opened a club and 'made money fast,' but somehow the fame eluded him.

What he did get was a house that became something of an L.A. landmark, thanks to the 19 statues of David he put up in the front yard.

The House of Davids: Owner Norwood Young says he's tired of people talking about the house, and not him

The House of Davids: Owner Norwood Young says he's tired of people talking about the house, and not him

Now, tired of living in a house more famous than he is, Mr Young has put it on the market for $2.1million.

The house is known as Youngwood Court, also known as the House of Davids.

As the L.A. Times put it: 'The House of Davids became an L.A. celebrity. Norwood Young the singer did not.'

In an interview with the paper, Mr Young said: 'There's 22 rooms in my home. I utilize five of them. I see myself in a smaller place, most certainly.

'What's next is to be totally committed to what I think my purpose is - what I know my purpose is - and that's my music.

Back to the music: After years of hard partying, Norwood says he wants to concentrate on making music

Back to the music: After years of hard partying, Norwood says he wants to concentrate on making music

'Whatever celebrity comes from that, then it's fine — but not based on the house. 

'I'm ready for an existence without the house.'

The house has a pool, sauna and a steam room. There's a home theatre with a bar, six bedrooms and six bathrooms.

Oh, and the 19 Michelangelo's Davids lined up along the front lawn.

The House of Davids became a pop landmark almost the instant Young startled his sedate street by putting the white statues up on pedestals.

Fourteen years later, cars still slow as they pass. 

But Mr Young is not bothered if the new owner gets rid of the statues.

He said: 'I wouldn't give a rat's behind what they did.'

When Mr Young first set foot in the house in the mid-1990s, he says: 'Every room was pink, Pepto-Bismol pink. Every room. Carpets: pink. Walls: pink.

Sprawling: Behind the Davids, the house has a pool, sauna, steam room, a home theatre room with a bar and six bedrooms

Sprawling: Behind the Davids, the house has a pool, sauna, steam room, a home theatre room with a bar and six bedrooms

Flamboyant: But Norwood Young never quite made it on to any A-list

Flamboyant: But Norwood Young never quite made it on to any A-list

'Baby, that pink was gone in four days.

'I would be silly to think that someone should even want to keep what my taste is.

'It's practice what I preach, right? Stay in your lane. Mind your business.'

Mr Young readily admits he is sick of the house because he's jealous of it, the LA Times reports.

Every time someone asks to talk to him, it's not really about him but about the house.

One day in November 1997, complaints from his neighbours brought the media.

TV trucks lined the curb and a couple of helicopters were flying overhead. 

Mr Young thought: 'By no means, within my home, was I going to alter or quiet or tone down the person that I am.

His next thought? Play it up, try to stay in the cameras, and see what happens.

He said: 'The idea was to ride the wave of the house and segue that into my music. 

'But it didn't quite pan out that way. That's my fault.'

Mr Young first sang at the age of six in his church choir in Ewing Township, New Jersey.

At 16, he signed his first record contract, which was followed by an album deal, touring abroad, stints in musicals off and on Broadway, and a part in a rock opera in Germany.

In Cologne, he got a gig singing in a big club, then opened his own club and made his money.

He returned to the U.S. and sang lead on an album for the Philadelphia rhythm and blues band Pieces of a Dream, won a spot on the TV talent show Star Search and recorded a duet with R&B star Millie Jackson.

'What's next is to be totally committed to what I think my purpose is - what I know my purpose is - and that's my music'

He came to L.A. but didn't work on his singing. 

In 2007, he appeared on an E! Entertainment TV reality show, High Maintenance 90210, but essentially became 'famous' only for his pursuit of fame.

He told the L.A. Times: 'My love for music never changed. My commitment to it did. 

'With the house came parties. With the parties came drugs. The drugs meant you didn't get up the next day at a decent hour, so life just went by. 

'So for me, I just lived vicariously through the house.'

Last year, Mr Young self-published his memoir Getting Back To My Me.

In it he tells of the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a relative as a child.

He now speaks out on sex abuse for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 

He has also started a volunteer network, Feed His People, to gather food for those in need.
But it seems he's no longer dazzled by the call of Tinseltown.

He says he's actually shy and a homebody. His plan is to move back East to live closer to his family.



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