An expensive hobby

Memorabilia collecting is the final stage in the metamorphosis of a music fan. You buy your records, go to too many shows, and come out the other side middle-aged with a little extra cash to splash on mementos from your youth.

Some music fans are willing to spend thousands on a poster displaying the name of their favourite band—but when does 'fandom' become a financial investment?

"Last year, I sold a 1963 gig poster for some unknown bands in London," says Michael Bloomfield, a partner at memorabilia distributor MEM Cinema & Music Memorabilia.

“But one of the bands, I think they were about third on the bill, was a band called The Konrads and The Konrads were one of Bowie's first bands.

“It was probably the earliest Bowie gig poster that still exists, and we sold it for £7,500.”

This is one of the most expensive pieces of music merchandise MEM has sold in its 29 years as a business.

"I think collecting extends from an experience in your childhood or teenage formative years," Michael explains, reflecting on his career.

“If you were going to the cinema and you liked horror or science fiction, or you were going to gigs and you particularly liked punk, it stems from that.

“There's got to be a trigger and generally it’s a trigger that occurred in these formative years, and obviously these memories are a powerful motivator.

“People like to collect memorabilia that reminds them of those times.”

MEM Cinema & Music Memorabilia typically sells band merchandise to middle-aged men who were heavily involved with music in their youth.

In fact, Michael's clients range from plumbers and decorators to multimillionaires. The one thing that connects them: the music they grew up with.

This demographic is reflected in the group of artists that fetch the biggest buck in the collector circuit.

"There’s a very definite premier league of collectible artists," says Michael.

“You’ve got The Beatles at the top, and then there are artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and The Sex Pistols, and others further away from that premier division."

“Collectable bands have got to have had some kind of success or otherwise, and have got to have some kind of cult recognition.”

There’s also a rather macabre trend of a band’s memorabilia growing in value after an artist passes away.

The posthumous prowess of folk-rock musician Nick Drake, who’s work achieved a much wider recognition following his death in 1974, is a good example of this.

“Nick Drake hated performing live so he had very limited commercial interest when he was alive.

“He was a recording artist who took his own life, and it’s only subsequently that he’s developed a big cult following.”

Even David Bowie, the glam-rock legend who passed away suddenly in January last year, saw a surge in the already sky-high prices of his memorabilia following his death.

Collecting memorabilia is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, around a third of people in the UK are collectors in some form.

Ernie Sutton, 58, is the treasurer of the British Beatles Fan Club, the current evolution of the original Liverpool-based fan community.

Ernie has been collecting Beatles memorabilia steadily since 1964, when he was given his first record 'I Feel Fine' at just four years old.

"Straight away I started to collect not just records but books, albums, videos, and later the newer formats of DVD and CD," he says.

“I have some original 1960s posters, badges, and toy guitars that were bought for me and managed to survive to this day. I collect almost anything."

“My most sought after items are a set of autographs on a post card from 1964, the original 'My Bonnie’, a single made in Germany way before they were famous.”

Rather than turn to dealers like MEM to source memorabilia, Ernie purchases his from the London Beatles Store in Baker Street.

The store specialises in contemporary T-shirts, bags, wallets, and CDs alongside autographs and original 1960s posters.

It isn’t only contemporary items which are sought after, but items owned by The Beatles themselves.

“Top of the range collectors these days are mainly looking for items owned by one of The Beatles.

“Last December, Ringo Starr auctioned many of his own personal items including drum kits, rings, clothes, and paintings.

“Some of these items went for incredible sums and Ringo donated the money to The David Lynch Foundation, which helps children in America to overcome trauma.”

But although these member-centric auctions are very successful, it is contemporary paper memorabilia that is most attractive to both collectors and dealers.

Paper memorabilia is available to buy from dealers online, at memorabilia auctions, and even at market stalls and car boot sales.

Most of the music-related products Michael sells through MEM are paper tickets, concert posters, and promotional record posters.

Currently, a concert flier from the Cardiff date of a 1967 Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd tour is going for £845 on the website.

"It's mostly paper, so big gig posters, album promo posters, gig flyers, original ticket stubs, and programmes. Those make up the bulk of business.

“We do occasionally handle autographs but we have to be very careful about those."

Michael believes people are so interested in these papers products because they often didn't survive the test of time.

People who attended concerts in the 60s, 70s and 80s may have lost their original tickets and posters, and be seeking replacements to remind them of their past relationship with an artist.

"It's a case of supply and demand. The product is paper and is ephemeral in the sense that it was produced to promote a specific gig or a specific venue and so once that event has passed the material actually has no value.

“Back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s there was no internet and this collecting market didn’t really exist and so these posters didn’t have value, and people used to throw this stuff away.

“Of course what’s happened over the past 30 years is that more and more people have come into the market to collect, and they’re collecting a finite amount of material, so supply and demand means the price goes one way."

The dynamic of music memorabilia collecting is something Michael thinks will change dramatically for collectors of modern merchandise.

"People now who are collecting contemporary music memorabilia need to be a little bit careful—if you're going out and swiping an Oasis poster you've got to think about how many of those were printed and how many people have got the same idea.

“This didn’t occur when The Beatles were in the trade so it’s an entirely different market."

Today, music fans are far more likely to hang onto tickets and posters than their fathers and grandfathers.

Pete Creighton, 22, from Belfast is an avid follower of alternative-rock duo Twenty One Pilots. He has seen the band 41 times in the past three years and wouldn’t dream of letting a single ticket go.

“I collect a bunch of t-shirts, I always get the tour t-shirt with the dates on it, and I keep all my tickets.

“I have the flag that they released and all their CDs, their special CDs, their cassette tapes and their vinyl."

“I keep absolutely everything, I keep confetti from the shows that I’ve been to, even things like bus tickets and train tickets from places that I saw them, I've always been sentimental and I like having memorabilia.”

Clearly, collecting comes much more naturally to the fandoms of today, and Pete even keeps a scrapbook on each tour where people he meets at shows write messages and record funny moments.

"I have a huge box of memorabilia that I keep in my attic, I'll hold onto this stuff forever."