"I'm not that sentimental about a lot of the stuff I've collected..." - read our exclusive interview with Depeche Mode's Alan Wilder
Here's one final look at Omega Auctions' sale of the Alan Wilder/Depeche Mode Collection, last Saturday (September 3).
Vintage synthesizers, costumes and other memorabilia went under the hammer, all from Wilder's career both during (1981-1995) and after his tenure in '80s synth pop pioneers Depeche Mode.
We've already reported on two highlights from the sale: a replica Gretsch guitar played by Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore, and Wilder's vintage Emax Turbo II synthesizer keyboard.
Both lots doubled their estimates - and they weren't the sale's only successes.
Also featured was the "ultimate DM vinyl rarity" described by Alan Wilder himself as "the Holy Grail of DM collectable vinyl."
 Behold: the 'ultimate DM vinyl rarity' sold for £4,025 |
In 1988 this incredibly rare white label box set (only one other has previously appeared for sale) was never released and was recalled for unknown reasons.
Containing tracks from no less than four Depeche Mode LPs, the white labels were sent to Alan for his approval and bear the note "Approval required before bulk run can be made."
In excellent condition and billed as "a unique piece of Mode history and extremely rare," fans and collectors clearly agreed on the records' 'holy grail' status.
In the end, they sold for £3,500 (£4,025 including buyer's premium) over their £1,000-1,500 pre-sale estimate.
This is the latest is a line of successful sales of collectible vinyl.
 How many Beatles does it take to sign a record? The 1963 |
Last month, a double-signed copy of The Beatles second-ever single, Please Please Me, auctioned for £9,000 in the Fab Four's hometown of Liverpool, UK.
A fan had asked each of The Beatles to sign her record outside the gig. They were obviously in a good mood, as John, Paul, George and Ringo's signatures appear on both sides.
But both the Depeche Mode box set and Please Please Me single have a way to go before their values are in the same league as the world's most valuable record: a Double Fantasy album signed in 1980 by John Lennon for his killer Mark Chapman.
The signed Double Fantasy is last known to have been sold in 1999 for around $150,000, highlighting the morbidity which sometimes drives the collectibles markets.
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