A battered tambourine used by rock star Liam Gallagher has sold for thousands of pounds at auction after nearly ending up in a skip.
The tambourine, used by Liam during the recording of Oasis album ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’, went under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire (Nov 2) with a guide price of £300-£500.
Bids flooded in and a live auction battle ensued between two phone bidders and people vying to buy the item via the internet. The worn-out instrument eventually sold to a UK internet bidder for a hammer price of £3,600 – around seven times its top estimate. Morning Glory has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
In the same sale, a shirt worn by fellow Oasis legend Noel Gallagher in a charity football match in 1996 sold for £950. Meanwhile, a similar football shirt made for Oasis co-founder Paul Arthurs reached £800.
The items belonged to Nick Brine, a freelance producer/sound engineer based in Alicante, Spain. He decided to part with a few mementos gathered during his 28-year career in the music business.
Nick, 44, who originates from Monmouth in Wales, said: “The tambourine was used during the recording of ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’. It was pretty battered by the end of the session and was going to be thrown away. But I claimed it. It’s been used on many recordings since by bands such as Teenage Fanclub, The Darkness, Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys, Seasick Steve, Steve Harley, Supergrass and The Verve.”
The football shirts came to Nick through a recording session. “Back in 1996 Oasis decided to sponsor one of their local pub teams,” said Nick. “Adidas made a bespoke kit for the team and one-off shirts for the band members, each with their names on the back. Bonehead (Paul Arthurs) and Noel kindly gave me their shirts at London’s Abbey Road Studios during the recording of their album Be Here Now. I was the engineer on the session.”
Josh McCarthy, music memorabilia valuer at Hansons, said: “I was thrilled to bring these rock treasures to auction, and always hoped they’d do well. Nevertheless, the price achieved for the tambourine took my breath away. Its musical pedigree proved irresistible to bidders.
“Thanks to Nick, the provenance was second to none and that sparked worldwide interest. It was an opportunity to own a slice of British rock history.”
Nick started his career at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1993 at the age of 16. The studios are renowned for hosting the crème de la crème of British pop and rock talent.
During a 12-month period in 1996-97, Rockfield sessions resulted in five UK Number One albums by Oasis, Black Grape, The Charlatans and the Boo Radleys. Other famous bands to record there include Manic Street Preachers, Robert Plant, and Coldplay. It’s best known for the recording of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in 1973.
The items sold on November 2, 2021 in a Music Memorabilia Auction at Hansons Auctioneers, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire. To find out more, or to arrange a free music memorabilia valuation, please email: [email protected].
