Rock n Roll & Film Memorabilia – Bonhams in Knightsbridge - 20 June 2007

Mike Oldfield’s Fender guitar, used to record the album ‘Tubular Bells’, will be sold in a sale of Rock n Roll & Film Memorabilia sale on Tuesday 20 June 2007. Oldfield’s original demos were recorded at his London flat on a borrowed tape machine. He took the tape to several record companies, none of whom showed much enthusiasm for it. However, Tom Newman, in charge of Virgin’s new studio at The Manor, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, heard it and persuaded Richard Branson to give Oldfield studio time to record the album.

Recorded during the autumn of 1972 and spring of 1973, it was the very first record put out by Virgin, carrying the catalogue number V2001. Released on 25th May 1973, the album went to No.1 in the UK charts, becoming the most successful rock instrumental album of all time with worldwide sales exceeding 25 million copies.

The guitar - estimated at £25,000-35,000, has a natural finish body with black/white laminated scratchplate and a rosewood fingerboard. This guitar, previously owned by Marc Bolan and originally with blonde finish, was the only six-string electric used by Mike Oldfield on his debut album, ‘Tubular Bells’.

The guitar has been donated by Mike Oldfield to be sold on behalf of the mental health charity SANE.

Also in the sale there is a suit previously owned by Marc Bolan which features on the cover of a recent T-Rex greatest hits album.

An original design for the repainting of John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V, 1967 is estimated at £6,000-7,000. A small article in ‘The Sun’ newspaper, 25th May 1967, reported that John Lennon was to take delivery of his newly-painted Rolls-Royce that day. From a sober, black finish the car was replaced with a new livery of bright yellow design with Romany-inspired floral motifs.

John had taken the car with him to Spain and Germany whilst filming ‘How I Won The War’ the previous autumn and the journey had taken its toll on the vehicle. In early April 1967, John asked J.P. Fallon Ltd., a coachbuilder in Chertsey, Surrey, about repainting the car. The exact origin behind the distinctive new finish is unclear but it seems that it was Marijke Koger - part of the collective of artists known as The Fool who suggested that it should be repainted in a similar style to John’s refurbished gypsy caravan in his Weybridge garden. Fallons commissioned local artist Steve Weaver to design and execute the new finish for the car.

Weaver’s daughter has confirmed that the item offered here is her father’s design, as submitted to John for approval. Over several base coats, it was completed in about six weeks. The car seemed a perfect statement of its time, being unveiled to the public just days before the Beatles’ masterpiece recording of ‘Sgt. Pepper’ which was released on 1st June 1967.

Background details are sold with this lot, including an issue of the Royal BC Museum’s magazine, ‘Discovery’, February 2006, and copies of Weaver’s invoice, 24th May 1967, for work undertaken on the car (£290) and his Application for Registration of Design, 19th June 1967, for the design applied to ‘Rolls Royce No. FJB IIIC owned by Mr John Lennon’.

COSTUMES
Also in the sale we are several important costumes and props including Christopher Reeve’s renowned costume from ‘Superman’, 1978. Comprising a pale blue stretch-fabric leotard with ‘S’ logo, yellow belt, shoulders with stud, Velcro fastening, matching tights and a pair of soft red leather knee-length boots, each inscribed inside 11½, this costume is estimated at £5,000-6,000

The vendor was previously a cameraman specialising in free-fall film work. Experiments were undertaken using a skydiver to see whether the flying sequences could be made more realistic than what was technically achievable at that time. However, the results were not as successful as had been hoped.

Two Scottish kilt costumes and sporrans previously personally owned and worn by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - one having been worn by Oliver Hardy on stage at the Glasgow Empire in 1947, the other kilt having been worn by Stan Laurel in the film “Bonnie Scotland”, 1935 will be sold - estimated at £11,000-13,000

After the costumes were brought to the UK for use on their theatre tour in the 1940’s, they were left in the care of Stan Laurels sister, who later gave them to a local amateur dramatics society in the 1950’s. The present vendor acquired them from in 1987 whilst researching a book. A full provenance describing the history of the kilts and the Laurel and Hardy performances in Scotland is available on request from Bonhams.

Three original Laurel and Hardy sketch scripts from their 1952 and 1953/4 UK tour featuring two sketches On The Spot and Birds of a Feather, with handwritten amendments and annotations will also be offered, estimated at £6,500-7,500.

In January 1970 John and Yoko, together with Yoko’s daughter Kyoko, stayed with Yoko’s ex-husband, Tony Cox, in his Danish farmhouse. During this time John and Yoko wore matching tracksuits: they owned two each, John’s in blue and Yoko’s in red. It was here that the couple decided to cut off their trademark long hair, as a symbol of the beginning of a new decade, a new start. In the sale is the tracksuit worn by John Lennon.

Estimated to fetch £4,000-5,000, the tracksuit the jacket and trousers are dark blue with white zippers. This lot will be sold with two paperbacks containing photographs of John and Yoko wearing similar suits and a statement of provenance from Tony Cox.

A complete original Sea Devil costume from Dr. Who, 1972 as used in series nine, worn by Jon Pertwee as the Doctor be will offered for sale. Complete with string vest, belt and a replica weapon, this lot will be sold with letter of provenance. The costume is estimated at £8,000-10,000.

“The Sea Devils” is regarded as one of the classic Jon Pertwee, Dr. Who episodes.

At present, this costume is believed to be the only existing Sea Devil outfit from the original episode. It was also used for photo-calls to publicise season nine of Doctor Who and was also included in the Doctor Who exhibition in 1997. The vendor purchased this costume in 2001.

An original prototype Stormtrooper helmet, from the Star Wars, 1977 will also be offered for sale. Cream-coloured vacu-formed plastic with clear plastic eye pieces and rubberised braid trim to the forehead, the helmet was made in 1976.

It is believed that there are only a handful of these prototypes now left worldwide. This particular example was made pre-production out of a rather thin plastic and formed in three pieces. The pronounced undercut to the rear section was quite complicated to mould and it was subsequently abandoned to make the helmets easier to produce. Ainsworth Productions of Twickenham were responsible for the manufacture of all the Stormtrooper helmets on the first ‘Star Wars’ film, now known as ‘Episode IV-A New Hope’. This helmet was recently assessed by the maker and confirmed to be one of the prototype models.

Posted: 06|7|07 at 8:44 am. Filed under: Press Release.