Record producer's music collection up for auction

A record producer who discovered hit bands like Muse and The Darkness, and who was fired for signing Take That, has put his record collection up for auction in Surrey.

Rare and sought after pieces of music memorabilia from Korda Marshall's expansive personal treasure trove went under the hammer at Ewbank's in Woking on Wednesday.

Spanning the last 40 years, among the highlights on offer were unique acetate recordings, signed white label records and gold, silver and platinum discs.

Auctioneer Andrew Ewbank said the collection, which consisted of several dozen crates of collectibles, "serves as a direct record of Marshall's impact on both the UK indie scene and the international pop charts".

Also up for grabs were oddities like a Red Hot Chili Peppers surfboard, which sold for £910, as well as a Morrissey portable record player from the former Smiths' singer's 2017 Low In High School promotional campaign.

London-born Marshall, 65, has worked with some of the the industry's biggest names - from The Eurythmics and Madonna, to Green Day and The Prodigy - having initially made his name as a talent scout for major record labels, such as Warner Bros and RCA.

He later set up his own Infectious Records, after being sacked from RCA when the first few singles by his latest discovery, the then unknown boyband Take That, failed to impact the charts.

Marshall, who is currently working on the latest Blondie album, said he decided to sell his collection because "it's a shame to have them all sitting in boxes and not being enjoyed or played".

Other than the Chili Peppers' surfboard, other popular items included a David Bowie vinyl collection, which sold for £780, and a stash of 1980s albums from the likes of Talking Heads and Kate Bush, which fetched nearly £800.

A collection of punk and New Wave LPs also sold for £975, while a bunch a cassette demos and live recordings from groups like Pop Will Eat Itself and Echo & The Bunnymen made £520.

However, best sale of the day was a number of white label and acetate pressings by seminal indie band The Wedding Present, which went for £1,560.

Meanwhile, a framed copy of their 1990 album Bizarro, marking the sale of 60,000 units, was sold for £845.

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