Latest News Articles by Tom Derbyshire
Bowie unreleased and unheard
05 April 2021Space for an oddity in your vinyl collection? David Bowie fans obviously feel that way.
Hat that fell to Earth and a Strange tale about a suit
05 April 2021As the sale title suggested, plenty of Bowie material appeared in Omega’s (28% buyer’s premium inc VAT) David Bowie & Glam Rock Vinyl Records & Memorabilia auction earlier this year.
Radiohead demo cassette evokes that Friday feeling
05 April 2021Three previously unheard tracks by the band that went on to become Radiohead surfaced thanks to a demo cassette that sold at Merseyside auction house Omega (28% buyer’s premium inc VAT).
Rock ‘n’ not just a roll
05 April 2021They sang about a Champagne Supernova but ‘24 large cans of quality lager’ were more to their taste when Oasis stipulated their needs for band and crew at an early gig.
Aunt Mimi on behalf of John Lennon
05 April 2021A note penned in December 1963 by Mary Elizabeth Smith from The Mendips, Menlove Avenue, Liverpool, to a Miss V Stoker of 54 Pirton Road, Hitchin, sold for £1300 to a UK online bidder at Wolverhampton saleroom Cuttlestones (17.5% buyer’s premium) on March 19.
Stars came out for Grand occasion
05 April 2021While the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, may not have the same ring as Hotel California, in the Sixties it was the place to check in. And even leave afterwards.
Where eagles roost conceptually
05 April 2021American film producer Elliott Kastner (1930- 2010) was responsible for many well-known movies including The Long Goodbye (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976) and Angel Heart (1987).
The full home cinema experience
05 April 2021The late Michael Armstrong was such a film fanatic that when the local cinema closed in his home town in 1993 he opened his own mini replica in his garage, complete with recycled fixtures and fittings.
Galaxy of film production roles in a long career
05 April 2021Thirteen lots in the exotically named Dr Atomicas Journey into Cool auction at Bishop & Miller in Stowmarket on May 7 have been consigned from an individual who worked for 30 years in the film industry with some of the biggest names.
Stargazing search pays off at last for collector
22 March 2021A long search for an 1914-15 Star had a happy ending after the Dix Noonan Webb (24% buyer’s premium) auction in London on February 17.
Honouring a respected nurse
22 March 2021Medal group awarded to First World War nurse is coming up at Bishop & Miller auction.
Royal Red Cross for Mesopotamian service offered at Chorley's
22 March 2021The postponed January auction at Gloucestershire saleroom Chorley’s will take place on March 23-24.
Have a medal instead of a drink, mate
22 March 2021Soldiers are often associated with hard drinking – but rarely temperance.
Second World War beret with star quality sells at Kent sale
22 March 2021A Second World War beret sold at a Kent auction was not only one of the famous maroon British paratrooper examples but had star billing of its own.
Relics from German plane destroyed by Peter Townsend sell in Berkshire auction
22 March 2021Princess Margaret’s lover Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend (1914-95) has been introduced to a new generation of TV viewers due to Netflix TV series The Crown – but militaria lots sold at auction also underline his renown as an RAF ace.
Navy commander Peter Scott became renowned birdwatcher
22 March 2021If you are a birdwatcher, you need a good pair of binoculars.
Little wonders - the Dunkirk ships
22 March 2021A New York auction offered reminders of the vital work carried out by ships of all backgrounds, shapes and sizes during the Dunkirk evacuation
Uniforms and archive of famed Galloway military family
22 March 2021Stowmarket saleroom Bishop & Miller’s Military, Medals & Weapons auction on April 30 features items from a distinguished Victorian military family.
Why CC41 was the in-thing to wear
22 March 2021By 1941, wartime Britain was facing severe shortages of both the raw materials and the labour force needed to make clothing.
Luxury liner turned into beast of burden
22 March 2021A car boot sale find 25 years ago has revealed how a luxury cruise liner was converted for transporting thousands of troops during the Second World War.