Mega Joy Division sale on Ebay -- MESSAGE FROM THE SELLER — Forum Archive

9 Jul 2003, 16:50

Andy, the seller of the now infamous Joy Division collection on Ebay, has kindly accepted to share with NewOrderOnline members how he came to build such an incredible collection and what led to him selling it.

He asked me to post this for you all.

HERE IT IS (very interesting!):

MESSAGE FROM TROJAN1963

Many thanks everyone for elevating an eBay auction to high intrigue. Myself and my partner were extremely amused at some of your speculations particularly the allegation that a woman had to be behind making me sell the collection.

The truth of the matter is that we're looking to buy a house and although it was a tough decision to decide to sell, life moves on and your priorities change as you get older. I've got the box set and will always have my memories so I thought it would be good to say Joy Division bought us a wall or two!

I suppose I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Punk rock had fired me up and to a certain extent still lives inside me, so naturally living in Manchester I had the opportunity to see many fantastic groups including those on the Manchester scene which seemed to explode after the Pistols.

I was 15 when I first saw Joy Division and immediately you could tell they were special. The autograph on the back of a cigarette packet was obtained in 1978. I remember Ian was flattered and said he'd never been asked before. I said it'll be worth something one day and sure enough I suppose it is.

I briefly fell into the trap that many of you still seem to be in and mythologised Ian's death at the time but I soon realised that 23 is no age to die. There is no glamour or romance in suicide and I'm sure we'd all rather he was still around.

Anyway, on a brighter note, I was lucky enough to follow the group for a couple of years and see them play regularly. Sometimes they were dreadful but most of the time they were absolutely awesome live. Myself and my good friend Pete would think nothing of travelling for hours on public transport to see them, often missing the last bus home but that's youth for you.

Along the way we sort of developed a kind of relationship with the group in the way fans of small groups often do. It's a bit embarrassing now thinking back on how we fawned over them and copied their clothes. They were about five years older than us but always found the time to say hello, sign our records and occassionally give us a lift back into Manchester. You've got to remember that Joy Division were just starting out in those days and I suppose they were grateful to see a few regular faces.

Anyway, back to the auction. OK it didn't make the reserve but hopefully what I've said will allay the horror some of you felt at the thought of anyone selling such a collection. Believe me they're not religious artefacts, they're just a pile of well treasured bits and pieces and some fantastic records.

I'm now inundated with post eBay e-mails from people making offers for individual items. Even so, I'm still serious about selling, I've got a house to buy. If you're interested in anything in the collection please drop me a line and I'll consider all reasonable offers. If I can't sort it out that way maybe I'll put some of the stuff back on eBay individually.

Best wishes to all you New Order fans around the world, and don't take things too seriously!

Trojan1963

andrewwake@msn.com

9 Jul 2003, 16:58

Excellent!

9 Jul 2003, 17:01

:clap: :clap:

WooooooooooHHooooooooooo!!!

9 Jul 2003, 18:35

Thanks for the message. It's great to hear something from somebody who followed the band around so closely!

There are so many questions to ask... like in what way the leap from "An Ideal For Living" to the 'classic' Joy Division sound was noticeable in successive gigs; how great 'Something Must Break' sounded live; who played the keyboards on the 1980 live version of She's Lost Control; etc. etc. But I'm not going to...

10 Jul 2003, 01:12

I've never understood the attraction of owning something just for the sake of owning it, eg an autographed album or sports memorabilia etc. It has nothing to do with the content that actually provides the pleasure, ie listening to the music or going to the game - especially if you're paying through your arse to own it.

10 Jul 2003, 06:00

Andy has a point, having a roof over your head is more important than a record collection. But i would kill (not buy, kill) to have a collection like that.

10 Jul 2003, 18:49

A very level headed man...

...with some stories to tell, I'm sure.

If you ask him nicely (very nicely), do you think he would agree to fielding some questions about his experiences?

11 Jul 2003, 00:47

Yes.

11 Jul 2003, 10:55

...do you think a bank would let you take out a home equity loan using the collection as security...I'd almost be willing to do that! I sincerely hope that someone out there is able to buy the whole collection...I'd be willing to display it in my media room at no cost to the owner :D kind of like a museum.

11 Jul 2003, 11:47

This is the best thing I've read in this site EVER. :cry:

Really touching. We must never forget that our interest in JD and NO has to be FUN, and not crazyness, like we see in some people's posts around here... :nuts:

Keep it comin', for those who come in peace!!

11 Jul 2003, 13:03

"I mad at me cause I missed the opportunity to buy Ian Curtis house when it was for sell last year.

Martin, if you see anything interesting, email me please. Especially expensive items cause i don't know what to do with my $$$$$$$$$"

This is what the Webmaster of the World in Motion site replied to me when I took the piss out of the fact that he was having a Hooky bass made (at the cost of £1750) which he can't play. Actually, I had a serious point, which he seems to have missed, but which is echoed in this thread: yeah it's nice to have the bits, but the music (and for the lucky Man up North the memories) is what's important; and having a roof over your head is more important still. I'm not actually sure how serious he was about buying Ian Curtis's house (?); but I think he should have bought it, and the Man up North's collection, and installed him as curator.

11 Jul 2003, 15:51

Great post. Just shows that as we grow older our priorities change, and what was once deemed indispensible blurs into a simple memory, but one which keeps forever and cannot be sold. I'm somehow glad that the items are still with a true fan, but I do hope that Andy finds the way to buy his house.

12 Jul 2003, 10:48

Originally posted by Martin Fenner "I mad at me cause I missed the opportunity to buy Ian Curtis house when it was for sell last year.Martin, if you see anything interesting, email me please. Especially expensive items cause i don't know what to do with my $$$$$$$$$"This is what the Webmaster of the World in Motion site replied to me when I took the piss out of the fact that he was having a Hooky bass made (at the cost of £1750) which he can't play. Actually, I had a serious point, which he seems to have missed, but which is echoed in this thread: yeah it's nice to have the bits, but the music (and for the lucky Man up North the memories) is what's important; and having a roof over your head is more important still. I'm not actually sure how serious he was about buying Ian Curtis's house (?); but I think he should have bought it, and the Man up North's collection, and installed him as curator.

Well, the seller is TROJAN1963, not the Man Up North, who is our beloved co-webmaster :D

But sure thing, if what you said is true, I'd say charity would be a way better option than this!!! But some people collect cars, which are way much expensive...!

12 Jul 2003, 10:57

Wow - what a great guy - bet he would have a few interesting stories to tell. We should all buy a bit of the collection to help him out! :)

12 Jul 2003, 17:50

Originally posted by Spotnick > Originally posted by Martin Fenner> "I mad at me cause I missed the opportunity to buy Ian Curtis house when it was for sell last year.> > Martin, if you see anything interesting, email me please. Especially expensive items cause i don't know what to do with my $$$$$$$$$"> > This is what the Webmaster of the World in Motion site replied to me when I took the piss out of the fact that he was having a Hooky bass made (at the cost of £1750) which he can't play. Actually, I had a serious point, which he seems to have missed, but which is echoed in this thread: yeah it's nice to have the bits, but the music (and for the lucky Man up North the memories) is what's important; and having a roof over your head is more important still. I'm not actually sure how serious he was about buying Ian Curtis's house (?); but I think he should have bought it, and the Man up North's collection, and installed him as curator.

Well, the seller is TROJAN1963, not the Man Up North, who is our beloved co-webmaster :D

But sure thing, if what you said is true, I'd say charity would be a way better option than this!!! But some people collect cars, which are way much expensive...!

Eh, call me a pedant ( I am) but am I the only one who didn't understand the above?

12 Jul 2003, 18:55

Originally posted by Martin Fenner Eh, call me a pedant ( I am) but am I the only one who didn't understand the above?

That is quite possible my friend :laugh:

My english tends to be very weird sometimes ;)

What I meant to say is that the auction bidder isn't the one who started this thread, and that Mr Sultan should give his money to charity instead of spending it on those type of things, if he has too much!

13 Jul 2003, 15:53

OK, I've got it. Didn't mean to diss your English. I agree with you completely.