Cassette recordings of New Order gig in Norwich up for grabs at auction
New Order closing Latitude 2016. Photo: Paul John Bayfield
A trio of cassette tape recordings of a New Order gig in Norwich will go under the hammer next week.
The seminal indie band performed at the now-defunct Pennies nightclub in on Monday, May 24, in 1982, in between the releases of their first and second albums.
The band - which formed from members of Joy Division in 1980 - performed in the former Anglia Square venue as part of a European tour that year, sandwiched in between gigs in Paris and London.
Cassette tapes of New Order's Norwich gig - Credit: Omega Auctions
And cassette tape recordings from the concert are now being placed under the hammer as part of a sale of Peter Hook memorabilia being held by Warrington-based auctioneers Omega Auctions.
Paul Mills, owner of St Benedicts record store Soundclash said the tapes would be something of a collector's item to any potential buyer, particularly if the recordings came from the band's mixing desk on the night.
Paul Mills, owner of Soundclash Records on St Benedicts Street, Norwich. - Credit: Sophie Wyllie
He said: "Cassettes do deteriorate and don't stand the test of time as well as records, so the recordings may potentially be a bit muffled. But if they've held their quality could in theory be worth hundreds of pounds.
"If they were recorded through the mixing desk and quality protected they would certainly be collector's items - you don't get live cassette recordings of concerts all that often, barely at all these days."
Most Read
- 1 'Awe and disbelief' as thousands of bees swarm pub garden
- 2 Which parts of Norwich could be underwater by 2030?
- 3 New images show progress of Sweet Briar Road repair
- 4 Neighbours' tribute to crash victim who 'thought the world of her dogs'
- 5 Dad left fuming as royal flag stolen weeks before jubilee weekend
- 6 U-turn on city bike shop closure
- 7 Fireworks, food stalls and music planned for jubilee party near Norwich
- 8 ANOTHER shop in major city street will soon be empty
- 9 First look inside five-acre bug zoo - and you can take a creepy crawly home
- 10 Driver with expired license overtakes police at 95mph
Mr Mills was in attendance at the gig itself, but said the performance left it feeling something of a blue Monday - at least for him.
A collection of New Order tapes, including recordings of their gig in Norwich - Credit: Omega Auctions
He said: "I remember the doors opening at about 9pm and we were all expecting them to be coming on stage around 10pm.
"But they didn't actually rock up on stage until around midnight, so left us all waiting.
"I then don't remember them playing many of their singles, I think it was mainly b-sides and I remember being a bit bored in all honesty.
"I was never a massive New Order fan but thought I'd go along because they were a well-known band and I was expecting a lot more."
Two separate lots in the auction include copies of the recording, one which has an existing bid of £100. The auction closes on Friday, October 8,
Setlist
New Order played:
- Ultraviolence
- Procession
- ICB
- Chosen Time
- Hurt
- Denial
- Everything's Gone Green
- We All Stand
- 5 8 6
New Order's other city link
Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order. Designed by Peter Saville. - Credit: Archant
New Order's performance at Pennies is not the band's only connection with the Fine City.
The band's second album, Power, Corruption and Lies, holds its other Norwich link.
Its album cover, designed by Peter Saville, features an array of flowers against a dark grey backdrop and is based on the painting Basket of Roses by Henri Fantin-Latour.
Mr Saville had bought a postcard of the painting from the National Gallery and was inspired to use it for the cover - but needed to photograph the original version.
And it here where the city comes in, with the painting on loan to Norwich Castle at the time. After a little reluctance, a special exception was made and Mr Saville was permitted to travel to the castle and photograph it.
While Pennies is no longer an active venue, one of the band will be returning to Norwich next year, with founding member Peter Hook due to perform at the Nick Rayn's LCR on April 9, 2022.
