Ian Curtis' Vox Phantom up for sale

https://www.bonhams.com/press\_release/30753/

you've got a month to scrape up 60K.

It'll fetch more, I'd hazard a guess...

I just wonder why Natalie is selling it? I thought there'd be something in the article that would explain her reasoning.

I hope she isn't in financial difficulty. It just seems impossible to imagine why she'd want to sell such an iconic memento of her father's.

Best not to speculate, I guess.

I will say, if I was a wealthy man, I'd be bidding. Those Phantoms are special anyway and, given the provenance of this one specifically, this is a fan's ultimate dream.

She looks exactly like her father.

He's a legend because of his rock & roll suicide at such an early age, on the verge of breaking into the mainstream.

The graphic from Unknown Pleasures has become so ubiquitous you can't get away from it.

Closer just celebrated its 40th anniversary, dredging up the suicide mythology all over again.

At some point you just want to get away from your past.

I'm sure she has other mementos (like his writing) that mean more to her on a personal level. Best to sell this now while there are still first generation fans who have the money for it.

yes i recently learnt that stacked charts like the UP image are now known as joy charts...

Thing is - perhaps she wants to buy a house? Difficult these days, especially if you're an artist. And you know we've all thrown away/sold stuff our parents coveted.

the reson this ended up on the search is that I was listening to Haze again and re-remembering that about 50 secs in the song you've got Barney doing JD era Barney on guitar. Then it struck me - this song (I believe) is about Ian, so it makes sense to put some JD sounds in there. take a ride across the sea/turn your whole life upside down - referring to Annik perhaps?

themightyspang wrote: Then it struck me - this song (I believe) is about Ian, so it makes sense to put some JD sounds in there. take a ride across the sea/turn your whole life upside down - referring to Annik perhaps?

I'm not convinced. Flogging your dead Pop's guitar to buy a house? Punk!

themightyspang wrote: yes i recently learnt that stacked charts like the UP image are now known as joy charts...

Thing is - perhaps she wants to buy a house? Difficult these days, especially if you're an artist. And you know we've all thrown away/sold stuff our parents coveted.

the reson this ended up on the search is that I was listening to Haze again and re-remembering that about 50 secs in the song you've got Barney doing JD era Barney on guitar. Then it struck me - this song (I believe) is about Ian, so it makes sense to put some JD sounds in there. take a ride across the sea/turn your whole life upside down - referring to Annik perhaps?

No, no no - off that album Can't Find My Way Home is the one about Ian

They should put it on Twitch. Tee hee.

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25996/lot/138/

Sold for £162,562 inc. premium.

There’s some lucky guy pretty happy now, I’d imagine A bit poorer financially, but I would bet that the guitar will give them a warm glow of happiness every time they look at it.

I’m a little jealous. But happy for the buyer.

I did think it’d push over £100k. Was estimated to go for £60k to £80k.

To be honest, I think that it’s a combination of who owned it (Ian, Bernard and Johnny Marr) but also because a white Vox Phantom is just so synonymous with Ian. They’re very rare and, if you see one, it instantly makes you think of JD.

What I’m saying is, if Ian played a black and white Strat, it probably wouldn’t have gone for anywhere near that value.

Out of interest how much is a normal white Vox Phantom untouched by IC?

I think for £162,000 I'd want more than a warm glow, no offence Perspex. Don't understand this at all, considering what you could do or buy for similar but it's sorted Natalie out.

tapebias wrote: Out of interest how much is a normal white Vox Phantom untouched by IC?

I think for £162,000 I'd want more than a warm glow, no offence Perspex. Don't understand this at all, considering what you could do or buy for similar but it's sorted Natalie out.

Agreed. You'd have to have a shed-load of money to be able to 'lose' £160k without worrying too much.

But it's priorities, ain't it? You and I would want to pay the mortgage, or put it towards a better house, or financial security for our families.

The guy buying this probably doesn't have to think about mortgages or crap like that. And as regards financial security, I'd think something like this would probably keep its resale value, so that's probably not an issue. So he probably feels 'what else am I gonna spent the cash on?'. It probably will give them the same sort of joy as owning yet another Aston Martin.

Yeah - it's a different world than the average Joe, but I'm still hoping it gives great pleasure to the buyer. I'm guessing he or or she is a big fan, so I'm sending goodwill to the guy (even if I'm jealous as Hell. )

And, yeah, Natalie - I hope she's very happy too. I also hope she never regrets selling it. I'm guessing she's been mulling this over for a long time, though, and I'm sure she's OK with decision. Again, priorities. If she'd rather be living in better circumstances, and can do without that guitar case under the bed gathering dust, it makes sense for her to part with it.

perspexorange wrote:

There’s some lucky guy pretty happy now.

Yup. Nothing says Happy like Ian Curtis. I'd like to think that if I had a spare wad, it'd go to Oxfam, Amnesty and some to my family. Still, the world's like the guy who steals from the sweet shop. Takes all sorts.

Does it even work? Is this not the guitar you could only play 2 chords on? Dm and Dmaj?

Don't forget the premium is around 25%, that's another 40k.

Johnny James wrote: Don't forget the premium is around 25%, that's another 40k.

I think the £162k included the premium.

JG wrote: There was one further auction at Bonham's today which may be of interest to this community https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25996/lot/175A/?category=list&length=12&page=15 - all proceeds donated to the NHS Covid-19 appeal.

Neat. Didn’t know about this. Thanks.

To be honest £4,000 for two flags seems less of a good deal than the guitar. [eek3] Maybe it’s just me, but I think of the flags as just a bit of tat that someone in a factory produced last year and they used as a backdrop. No real history etc.

But, again, one’s mileage may vary.

Still, worthy cause and all that.

perspexorange wrote:

Johnny James wrote: Don't forget the premium is around 25%, that's another 40k.

I think the £162k included the premium.

Nope, that's not how auctions work, it's an additional cost to the hammer price.

perspexorange wrote: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25996/lot/138/

Sold for £162,562 inc. premium.

There’s some lucky guy pretty happy now, I’d imagine.

What makes you think it was a man who bought it??

Can you imagine buying it for that price? What would you do with it? You'd surely just have to insure it to the hilt and then put it in secure storage

But yeah - I guess it's a decent investment with interest rates at close to zero.

tapebias wrote: Does it even work? Is this not the guitar you could only play 2 chords on? Dm and Dmaj?

He isn't gonna play it. It's the smug satisfaction he's into.

Johnny James wrote:

perspexorange wrote:

Johnny James wrote: Don't forget the premium is around 25%, that's another 40k.

I think the £162k included the premium.

Nope, that's not how auctions work, it's an additional cost to the hammer price.

Oh, Ok. It's just that the webpage said "Sold for £ 162,562 inc. premium" so thought that it did.

Also, the first I heard about it was when someone who was watching the auction emailed to say it went for "£130k plus commission", which also made me think that a premium was included in the £162,562 price.

£130,000 hammer price

• £32,500 (25%, as per your approximation) = £162,500

Which is pretty close to the £162,562 figure.

Or have I completely misunderstood?

GotBlueEyes wrote:

perspexorange wrote: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25996/lot/138/

Sold for £162,562 inc. premium.

There’s some lucky guy pretty happy now, I’d imagine.

What makes you think it was a man who bought it??

Well I did correct myself later in the post.

perspexorange wrote: I'm guessing he or or she is a big fan

But, yeah, my money's on a guy, rather than a gal.

I have my suspicions as to someone who would probably have bid on it. Whether he won it is another matter.

The Young Ones: 'Dear Mr Bank manager...' - 'Ah-HA! And WHAT makes you think your bank manager's a man?' - 'His beard.' I reckon it was a guy. It's normally blokes who go for this kind of thing. Very few women would be stupid enough to spend enough money to feed Africa on a flea-ridden guitar they can't even touch, let alone play, just cos some unfaithful suicidal hubbie who dabbled in Nazi imagery made one good album fucking years ago. We guys are AWESOME.

perspexorange wrote:

But, yeah, my money's on a guy, rather than a gal.

I'm with you on this one PO, just to make up for being grumpy with you recently (Also women only spend this much money on clothes ::ducks for cover:: )

There's nothing sexist about the truth. This kind of hobby is statistically more widespread among males. What does that mean? Totally fuck all.

Was it that Sultan guy that bought it?

Debaser wrote:

I'm with you on this one PO, just to make up for being grumpy with you recently

HaHa. Don't worry, I don't take these things personally.

Getting obsessed over music does appear to be a 'mainly' male trait.

perspexorange wrote:

Johnny James wrote:

perspexorange wrote:

Johnny James wrote: Don't forget the premium is around 25%, that's another 40k.

I think the £162k included the premium.

Nope, that's not how auctions work, it's an additional cost to the hammer price.

Oh, Ok. It's just that the webpage said "Sold for £ 162,562 inc. premium" so thought that it did.

Also, the first I heard about it was when someone who was watching the auction emailed to say it went for "£130k plus commission", which also made me think that a premium was included in the £162,562 price.

£130,000 hammer price

• £32,500 (25%, as per your approximation) = £162,500

Which is pretty close to the £162,562 figure.

Or have I completely misunderstood?

Fair enough if 130k was the hammer price, I haven't looked that closely. Usually people quote the hammer price not realising there's a big premium added to it.

Here's a little piece on the guitar, along with a clip of the auction.