One of the reasons that rock and pop memorabilia appeals to so many people is what I refer to as the ‘musical nerd’ factor. While the top prices always come for stage-worn clothes or instruments used on seminal albums or during live shows, other influences can also come into play to make something desirable at auction.
Take, for example, a guitar consigned for sale next month. What makes this rather non-descript acoustic number worth the £15,000 estimate? The answer is that it was played by Mike Hurst of the British folk trio The Springfields – also featuring Dusty Springfield – when they were the first British group to break into the US charts, a year and a half before the Brits began their assault on American pop fans in earnest.
The Springfields broke into the US Billboard Top 20 in September 1962 with Silver Threads and Golden Needles, before disbanding in 1964 so that Dusty could continue her career as a solo artist (my own favourite of hers is a song called Spooky), with Mike becoming a music producer who worked with Cat Stevens, Shakin’ Stevens and other big names.
An added attraction here is that Jimmy Page, later of Led Zeppelin, played the guitar when he joined Hurst’s band in 1964. It cost Mike Hurst £65 in 1962. With a pedigree like this, £15,000 doesn’t sound too ambitious.
