Rare Sex Pistols singles, The Smiths demo tape and more: John Peel’s music collection is auctioned

An auction of the archives of John Peel took place this Tuesday, the 14th, at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, London. Among the personal items up for auction were rare recordings of singles by sex pistolsthe demo tape of The Smiths and a gold record Tears for Fears.

JohnRavenscroftartistic surname peelwas an important British DJ and broadcaster, responsible for presenting several rock and punk bands in the 1970s on his program The John Peel Sessions. In the program, bands like Joy Division, New Order and Siouxsie and the Banshees got record deals after appearing alongside peel.

The pressing of singles ‘Anarchy In The UK’ / ‘I Wanna Be Me’ of 1976, of pistols, was the best-selling item, reaching a final price of £20,400. It was estimated before the auction that the lot would not sell for more than £8,000.

The rare demo tape The Smiths recorded in 1983 contained a handwritten letter written by the band, an autographed copy of the LP ‘Two Virgins’in John Lennon and Yoko Onoand a 7″ copy of the 1988 single from Nirvana‘Love Buzz’/ ‘Big Cheese’.

In the letter, the Smiths talk about their first 7 inch single, “Hand in Glove”, which would be released on May 13 of that year. Of the eight songs shown on the cassette, seven were played by John Peel as part of your program The Peel Sessions.

All items sold were selected by the family Ravenscroftwho decided to pass on the rare and iconic artifacts of music, which peel collected throughout his career. The broadcaster died in 2004 after a cardiac arrest.

“In going through the accumulation of 40 years of pop music moments, we decided that some of the most interesting items could find a home, with fans of his show or the artists whose music he played. We didn’t want to share his beloved record collection, but we did include a particularly rare or unique selection”.