Picture Caption: Hansons’ music specialist Claire Howell.
Many people have one thing in common – gathering dust, possibly in the garage or loft, is an old record collection.
Many of those discs may have been bought at R.E.Cords in Sadler Gate, Derby, the coolest place to be seen back in the day. Every town and city had a hip and trendy records shop.
You’d stroll in and leaf through the vinyl, looking as if you knew what the hippest thing to listen to was – even if you’d never heard of half the bands. Though I was quite ‘with it’ of course!
With the onset of CDs, the digital age, smart phones, iTunes, Spotify, downloads and more, records seemed as archiac as Noah’s Ark. Consequently, vinyl collections were despatched to gather dust. However, for many of us they were impossible to part with, encapsulating our youthful musical tastes and a part of our lives we hold dear.
And that’s fortunate because records are back in vogue, many are valuable and if you head to Hansons next week you could find out if you’re sitting on treasures. That’s because our music specialist Claire Howell will be doing free valuations on Thursday, October 19.
Records have boomed in popularity in recent years, many artists are releasing music on vinyl again and people want to buy those old records – badly.
For example, a collection of Beatles LPs doubled their estimate at a Hansons auction, selling for £940.
Memorabilia from The Who, Jimmy Hendrix, Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath has also done well. Such is the interest, a story flagging up a Jimi Hendrik autograph in our October 23 Records & Musical Instruments Auction ended up on 120 websites around the world.
Claire says no music genre is off limits whether it be Goth, Alternative, Indie, Brit pop, Progressive Metal, Psyche, Punk, Mod, 60s, Beat, Northern, Reggae, Ska, Metal, Trash and so on.
The most valuable records are ones which have been owned by a celebrity or were made in limited numbers. The rarer the item the more valuable it is.
For example, Led Zeppelin’s 1969 first album could be worth around £3,000. Led Zeppelin’s first vinyl album is common but the initial pressing had turquoise lettering of the band’s name on the cover.
Or perhaps you’ve got Love Me Do/PS I Love You by The Beatles, also worth £3,000. The first 250 demo copies of this 1962 7-inch single contained the misspelling, McArtney.
And a copy of the White Album by The Beatles, originally owned by Ringo Starr, sold for £730,876.
There are many more examples but the best way to find out if you have a gem in your record collection is to see Claire at Hansons, Heage Lane, Etwall, on October 19, 10am-1pm. If you want to buy, don’t miss our Music Memorabilia, Records, Musical Instruments and Mechanical Music Auction on Monday, October 23. Our Antiques and Collectables Auction runs from October 19-21 and 23. Free general antique valuations are held at Hansons on Wednesdays, 5-7.30pm; Fridays, 9am-4pm and Saturdays, 9am-noon. To find out more, call 01283 733988 or email [email protected]
