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| The Who 1965 |
September 2015 -
Backstage Auctions is proud to present one of the most
historic rock photo archive auctions featuring thousands of vintage images of
the British music scene from the 1960s and 1970s.
The collection consists of well over 20,000 historic
negatives, slides and transparencies featuring some of the most iconic
musicians and bands of all time. Almost exclusively comprised of film from the
1960s and 1970s, this material comes direct from John Halsall and was once part of the core archive of a London based photo agency. After having been
professionally stored for the past 35 years, the world can now witness the
unearthing of a visually magnificent and historically significant archive that
has no equal.
This collection is divided in just under 500 individual lots
and will be offered with a full transfer of rights, which makes this material
not only collectible but also commercially appealing and exceptionally
valuable.
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| The Grateful Dead 1970 |
As with any high quality collection, this archive is
well-represented by the various decades and genres that ultimately transformed
and created the history of rock, pop and punk music.
From the 1950s the collection offers attractive lots by
several of the Jazz, Pop and Country greats such as Duke Ellington, Fats
Domino, Charlie Mingus, Sidney Bechet, The Andrew Sisters, Nat King Cole, Tony
Bennett, Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, Bill Haley & The Comets and Gene
Vincent.
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| Otis Redding 1966 |
The roaring 60s consume a large part of the auction. From
teen heart-throbs such as the Bee Gees, Beach Boys, Dave Clark 5, Sonny &
Cher and The Walker Brothers, to R&B giants such as James Brown, The Crystals,
Martha & The Vendellas, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and The Supremes.
It is however the
Rock & Roll portion that truly elevates this collection to peerless
heights. In particular the thousands of never-before-seen photos of The Rolling
Stones and The Who is what makes this archive one for the ages.
Equally
significant are lots by The Animals, The Band, Jeff Beck, The Byrds, Blind
Faith, Cream, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks,
The Mamas & The Papas, The Move, Them and Pink Floyd.
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| Mick Jagger 1964 |
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| Robert Plant 1979 |
The 1970s is the next decade that consumes the other large
part of the auction, fueled by incredible collections from many of the A-List
of Rock such as Led Zeppelin, Queen, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Mountain, New
York Dolls, Sweet, Thin Lizzy, T. Rex and Frank Zappa.
Complementing the
diverse 70s are fantastic lots from the Punk era (Sex Pistols, The Clash, Blondie,
Iggy Pop, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Jam, The Stranglers), Pop giants
(ABBA, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, The Police, Dire Straits) to the early
days of Heavy-Metal (AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard).
The collection comes to a conclusion in the early 1980s with
exceptional lots from some of the legendary New-Wave (The Tourists, Pretenders,
Ian Dury), Ska (Madness) and Reggae (Peter Tosh) performers.
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| Sex Pistols March 21, 1977 with Sid Vicious at Notre Dame Hall - London |
Rounding out the archive are several impressive festival
collections (Isle of Wight, Knebworth, Reading, Bickershaw, Glad Rag Balls and
others) to over 30 lots from various “Top of the Pops” and “Ready, Set, Go!” television episodes aired between the mid-60s to
1982.
Collection Highlights
Highlighted below are what we consider to be the Top Five
collections to be featured in the auction. Of course it was hard to pick just
five, but read on and you will get a sense of why these collections are high on
our list.
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| Rolling Stones 1965 |
The Rolling
Stones - simply because of the sheer volume (almost 5,000 negatives) and the
fact that 75% of it is dated between 1963 and 1969. It provides the a most
comprehensive visual documentation of their TV appearances, live shows, formal
and candid photo sessions and their years of touring.
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| The Who 1965 |
The Who - very much for the same reason as with The Stones. With almost 3,000 negatives,
of with more than half from the 60s, this collection presents an insight into their high profile and public lives.
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| Cream 1969 |
Eric
Clapton – and in particular the collection of photos of Cream and Blind Faith,
which include highly illusive images of club shows, rehearsals and candid photo
sessions. The many addition lots of Eric Clapton with Delaney & Bonnie, as
well as his early years a solo artist makes this overall a most comprehensive
collection of the vintage Clapton era.
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Jimi Hendrix ca. 1966 UK
Professional Photo Shoot |
Jimi
Hendrix - just when one would think that every Hendrix photo that was ever made
has already been discovered and seen by ‘the world’, this archive offers 175 jaw-dropping
new images, from photo sessions and candid moments, to TV appearances,
rehearsals and live shows.
The 5th
artist is a true toss-up between Pink Floyd (for the Syd Barrett content), Otis
Redding (for the amazing live and backstage photos of several of his U.K.
shows) and Black Sabbath (because it documents the first few years of their
career through a series of stunning photo sessions and live shows).
Collections worthy of
more than a quick glance
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The Jeff Beck Group 1967 with Rod
Stewart and Ron Wood |
What comes
to mind initially is a collection of almost 800 Rolling Stones negatives (!)
taken from their first tour of Ireland, which lasted exactly 3 days (January
6-8, 1965). To take that many photos means that you have documented nearly
every plane, train and bus ride, hotel stay, breakfast, lunch and dinner,
rehearsal and concert, dressing room and backstage moment from that tour…and
this collection in fact has done just that.
The second
is more an ‘angle’ than a specific artist. Perhaps the most unique element of
this archive is that it captures so many ‘big name’ artists at a time when they
were so young. And with that comes the other aspect…so many of the photos are
deeply personal as they show these artists at home, in their backyard, on the
road, in a dressing room, even in the hospital. What stands out – and we could
do a great photo collage – is;
• Keith Moon
at home with wife & kids
• Bill Wyman
at home with wife & kids
• Pete
Townshend visiting his manager’s office
• The Bee Gees
at home with wives / girlfriends
• Jimi Hendrix
in rehearsal
• Cream on the
couch of their management office
• Mick Jagger
looking at a "peeking" fan
• Otis Redding
getting ready for a show in London
• Marc Bolan
and his girlfriend with newborn son
• David Bowie
on the floor in his apartment
• Jeff Beck
with his buddies (Stewart and Wood)
• Johnny Cash
with wife & son
• Roy Orbison
with wife & son
• Ozzy
Osbourne dropping his pants
• Sonny &
Cher in the worlds most "dizziest" outfits
• Diana Ross
& The Supremes first UK visit
• Mama Cass
Elliot in her London hotel room
• George
Martin (The Beatles producer) at home
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| David Bowie ca. 1969 |
About John Halsall
John Halsall started London Features and was formed in 1969 and initially began as
a tool for the syndication of John's
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| John Halsall - London Features Press Pass 1974 |
personal freelance articles and
the photographs taken by his photographer/ co-director. By the 1970s it because
apparent that, as far as rock music was concerned, London had become the
Capital of the World and many of the foreign publications that had used Halsall
as their foreign correspondent were either opening their own offices in London
or financing a London based staff.
As time passed, the need for Halsall’s interviewing and
writing obligations diminished but the need for on the ground photographers was
growing, so LFI (London Features International) added photographers, opened
additional dark rooms and a proper studio, and soon came into its own as an
established agency.
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Halsall interviewing Carl Wilson
of the Beach Boys in 1973 |
LFI became the largest agency in its field and the
competition conceded; most sold their collections to LFI complete with rights
as did many independent photographers. Halsall, being a businessman first,
recognized the value and opportunity in the images and began to personally purchase
the collections and assimilate them into the LFI library.
Decades later, LFI became the victim of the “digital
revolution” and the rise of such well funded giants as Getty and Shutterstock. LFI was sold in 2005 and Halsall retired along
with his amazing library of images. The collection being presented at auction
is the personal collection and
historical archive of John Halsall.
Auction Information
The Photo Archive Auction will have a special VIP Preview
beginning on September 19th, 2015. The bidding will begin on
September 26th and run through October 4th, 2015.
