The world is still madly in love with 1970s band 10cc as the chance to buy memorabilia from the group’s heyday saw bidders battling to own a piece of pop music history.
The group’s Ivor Novello award for worldwide hit I’m Not In Love, Most Performed British Work, 1975, smashed through its £1,500-£2,000 estimate to sell for £5,100 at Derbyshire’s Hansons Auctioneers on March 14.
In addition, a gold disc recognising 100,000 UK sales of 10cc’s Greatest Hits 1972-1978 and a silver disc to mark £150,000 of sales of their album Bloody Tourists both sold for £1,050 respectively. The original estimates were £200-£300 each.
In the same specialist music auction, an NME Godlike Genius award presented to The Fall’s Mark E Smith in 1998 sold for £5,000.
The 10cc memorabilia also included a Music Week Award for the sleeve design of Deceptive Bends, 1977, which sold for £380 from an estimate of £40-£60.
All the items belonged to 10cc’s former manager Ric Dixon, 82, who, sadly, has vascular dementia and now lives in a care home in Cheshire.
He is visited daily by his devoted wife, Jill, who was in the saleroom in Etwall, near Derby, to see the 10cc memorabilia soar to success.
She said: “This goes to show that 10cc, and the music they made, is still held in high esteem. I never would have believed the Ivor Novello award would have made so much money.
“I am also delighted the award is staying in the UK. If only 10cc had stayed together for longer and made even more music.”
Both the Ivor Novello award and the Mark E Smith awards were sold to private UK buyers.
I’m Not in Love was number one in the UK singles charts for two weeks in 1975 and won three Ivor Novello awards for Best Pop Song, International Hit of the Year and Most Performed British Work.
The song reached number one in Ireland and Canada, number two in the US and made the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries.
Mrs Dixon, who like her husband originates from Manchester, said: “I hope that by selling these items Ric will gain the recognition he deserves for managing a band that have brought pleasure to millions. I still hear I’m Not In Love being played – even in Marks & Spencer.”
Jim Spencer, valuer at Hansons Auctioneers, said: “Both the 10cc memorabilia and Mark E Smith award were extraordinary items to catalogue and handle.I am delighted that fans flocked to own a piece of pop music history.”
The music auction was held at Hansons Auctioneers, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire, on March 14. To find out more, email [email protected] or call 01283 733988.
