Five great original posters promoting music legends to buy at auction

A tad unlikely? Maybe, but that was the remarkable prospect on offer on August 8 and 15, 1967, at the West Country town now probably better known for Fawlty Towers than rock titans.

However, as revealed in the catalogue entry for a poster featuring in the Newbury Special Auction Services Music & Entertainment sale on February 16-17, that second mouth-watering concert never actually happened in the end.

It is one of the many fascinating music promo posters you can buy at various auctions, with estimates from under £100 to up to several thousand pounds for the real big-hitters of this collecting market such as The Beatles and Rolling Stones.

Here are five to buy from that SAS sale, as well as the Omega Music Memorabilia auction at the Merseyside firm on February 23-24.

Hendrix and Kinks in Torquay

The Kinks/Jimi Hendrix poster mentioned above (and pictured top) is estimated at £200-300 in the SAS February 16-17 sale. The catalogue says it would appear that the August 15 Hendrix gig “never happened as the date now coincides with a concert that actually took place in the USA”.

With paper loss to bottom right corner and tape residue centre top edge with a few light creases, the 20in x 2ft 6in poster is described as otherwise “in very good condition”.

To bid for the The Kinks/Jimi Hendrix 1967 concerts poster view the catalogue entry on thesaleroom.com

Rock 'n' roll-call of legends

Reading festival 1980 poster - estimate £100-150 at Special Auction Services on February 16-17.

Talking of several top names on one poster, what about Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz, Rory Gallagher, UFO, Whitesnake and more? All those rock legends, as they should of course be referred to as, appear on a Reading Rock Festival poster from 1980 on offer at SAS on February 16-17 estimated at £100-150.

Folded and rolled, with a little wear on folds, but “otherwise in very good condition”, it measures 20in x 2ft 6in.

Visit thesaleroom.com to view the Reading Rock Festival poster from 1980.

Miles better

Miles Davis Paris concert poster - estimate £300-500 at Omega on February 23-24.

Over at Omega on February 23-24, this wonderful design by Tito Topin promotes Miles Davis Quintet’s performance at the 4th Paris Jazz Festival. Measuring 54.5 x 90cm, it has “some losses, creasing etc” and is estimated at £300-500.

Bid for this poster for Miles Davis Quintet’s performance at the 4th Paris Jazz Festival on thesaleroom.com

Poignant poster

Joy Division Edinburgh concert poster - estimate £600-1000 at Omega on February 23-24.

The tragedy of Joy Division is told via this “supremely rare” poster for the planned concert at the Astoria, Edinburgh, on May 8, 1980.

The concert was cancelled due to Ian Curtis’s ill-health and he was to take his own life only 10 days later. This example comes from a collection of similar posters, amassed during the period in Edinburgh and which includes many similar examples for theatre and venues in the area. The 16.5 x 23in poster is “clearly unrolled since the cancellation” and estimated at £600-1000 at Omega.

To see the poster for the Joy Division concert at the Astoria, Edinburgh, try thesaleroom.com.

Waiting on a bid

Rolling Stones poster for Cheltenham Odeon - estimate £8000-12,000 at Omega on February 23-24.

At the higher estimate end of this market you can usually find the Rolling Stones. For example, a “supremely rare original poster” for two Rolling Stones performances at Cheltenham Odeon on September 27, 1965, is guided at a hefty £8000-12,000 by Omega.

Measuring 51 x 76cm and described as being in “impressive VF condition considering age, with some losses and age wear”, the provenance is: “the vendor's father worked as a barber to the stars in the Kensington area and obtained the poster sometime during his career. Had been in the family since.”

You can bid for the poster for two Rolling Stones performances at Cheltenham Odeon on thesaleroom.com