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VIP Events - Music and
film fairs
across Europe and on-line
VIP
Events are the biggest organisers of music and record fairs in
Europe and was established by 'pioneer' Rob Lythall back
in the days when The Internet, MP3s and CDs hadn't been
invented. Yes, there really was a time, and it was only 25
years ago, when we used maps to plan a journey and stopped at
the side of the road to use a phone box!
Of
course, vinyl has had a big rise in popularity after the
novelty of CDs wore off and there are a lot of protagonists
for the format these days who see the sound quality and the
'experience' of vinyl as superior to other formats. VIP Events
hold music and record fairs which are running every week
across the UK and satisfy a big demand from dealers and record
collectors for buying and selling vinyl and CDs and associated
memorabilia and paraphernalia.
Here,
Digger talks to Rob about VIP Events and music collecting.
Digger:
Good morning Rob.
Rob:
Good morning David. How are you doing?
Digger:
I'm great thanks. How are you?
Digger:
I went to the Peacock's Rock, Pop and Film auctions on
Saturday.
Rob:
Oh right. How was it?
Digger:
They work really hard. The auctioneer covered
over 600 lots from 10:30 to after 5 but he kept going
and kept good-humoured. I got there early to have
a look at the items in advance - one of my clients was
there buying and selling. These days there are a lot
of phone bids and Internet bids.
Rob:
You don't really need to be there these days, do you?
Digger:
No, but as you'll appreciate, it's nice to actually
see the items and be able to touch them and inspect
them.
Rob:
I know what you mean. Were there any CD lots?
Digger:
I didn't notice any. Collections and assortments
of old vinyl. Mainly sports and film memorabilia -
hundreds of posters. And then a lot of rock and
pop - concert posters, autographs, photos,
contracts and, of course, lots of singles and
albums from just about every band and genre you
can think of. The best Beatles item was a postcard
signed by the four Beatles and Brian Epstein.
Rob:
Nice one. How much did that go for?
Digger:
It didn't sell.
Rob:
What was the reserve?
Digger:
I think the bidding went up to about £4,500
but it didn't get sold so it must have been
higher.
Rob:
Considering the amount of 'secretarials' that
were done...
Digger:
They had a few of those too - they had
two that were signed entirely by John
Lennon pretending to sign for all four
and another by Paul McCartney. They did
sell for a few hundred each.
Rob:
We got an autograph album in where three of them
looked good but there's one - because
I've seen a lot of their signatures, and
I just thought "No, no that's
similar to another of the band member's
handwriting."
Digger:
You can spot the difference after a while. So can you
tell us about your background and the
background to VIP Events?
Rob:
My background was that I was training
in management in banking in the early
eighties. It was a building society
called The Town & Country.
Digger:
They gave me my first mortgage!
Rob:
There you go mate. We then became
The Woolwich. And I was mad about
music and had been buying and
selling music since I was at school
because I was into Northern Soul
music from The States when I was
still at school.
Digger:
I suppose you got out of banking
at just the right time?
Rob: I
could tell people before it all
went wrong - we could see what
was happening. It's all a bit
naughty and unnecessary. So, I
got into this full-time when I
realised I couldn't do evenings
and weekends and hold a career
down in the daytime if I wanted
to stay sane.
Digger:
Was there a decision where you
said that you might have to
take a lower salary, at least
to start, so that you could
realise your dream of doing
this full-time?
Rob:
Yes really it got to the stage
where I was offered a job in
Manchester and I'd already
turned two or three down and I
thought "Right, it's time
to crack on with this."
Rob:
With the bank I was looking at moving
every five years, having a
reasonable income but not a
lot of fun out of it all. I
just took the risk really.
And, as it happens, I was kind
of like a pioneer really.
Because in the eighties
there was obviously a
changing government and they
looked after the
self-employed a little bit
more and opened the doors a
little bit for us. So I
managed to get out there,
realised the potential of
running record fairs almost
as a weekly thing. And we
could provide weekly work
for people like us who loved
music and dabbled a little
bit in music and could
perhaps get a full-time
income out of it.
Digger:
Had CDs come in by this
stage?
Digger:
And it was
pre-Internet.
Rob:
Definitely, so it was
all vinyl. I have a
friend who was a fully-qualified
central heating
engineers and who had a
huge knowledge of Northern Soul. At the
same time as me he turned
his back on that and
became a DJ and a buyer
and seller of music
and he's done really
well. He's had a good
life and done well out
of it. So what I did
was a) provide the
machinery for a lot of
people to develop the
hobby that they love
of collecting and
buying music and b)
allow people to actually earn a
living selling it as
well.
Digger:
How much has it
changed?
Rob:
In the early days it
was trying things
and not knowing
whether it would
work or not. And
obviously in the
early days there
were no such things
as price guides, so
if you really had
the knowledge you
didn't have to be a
good businessman or
salesman. If you
just bought right
and knew in your
head what you could
sell it for you
could make a
killing. But you had
to have one of those
minds which I never
had.
Digger:
I went to Rare
Discs in London one day a
few years ago -
it's gone now, of
course. And they
had a programme
for a Hendrix
concert - I think
The Move and Pink
Floyd were also on
the gig. The guy
at Rare Discs said
he didn't know
much about that
sort of
memorabilia and
just wanted to get
rid of it and so
sold it to me for
£10. I later sold
it for £200. That
was in the 90s so
it would be worth
a lot more now.
Rob:
My big error was
The Sex Pistols
God Save The Queen.
A&M signed
them up and then
got rid of them
very quickly when
they realised what
they'd got. They'd
actually pressed
the first single,
God Save The Queen
and they destroyed
all the singles
but they kept a
couple of hundred
of the singles
back - gave out to
some employees and
I was offered a 25
count box of them
at a record fair
in Milton Keynes
just after we'd
started. I knew
nothing about it,
wasn't interested
in punk - I'd even
given away EMI
promos of The Sex
Pistols to my
brother because I
was only interested in
the soul scene.
Just not
interested in punk. I
thought with my
businessman's hat
on but he wanted
£500 for them
which was £20
each which was a
lot at the time
and it would have
been our takings
for the day and a
bit more. Now a
rock and roll
dealer there took a punt
and bought them
and got rid of
them within a week
with a good profit.
But now you're
probably looking
at, wait for it...
between
£5,000 and £10,000
a pop.
Digger:
And you had 25
of them?
Rob:
25 of them
offered to us.
That just
shows that the
man you're
interviewing
who knows
everything
knows probably
not a lot.
(Laughs)
Digger:
Well, we all make
mistakes.
Rob:
You can't be
an expert in
everything.
The guy at
Rare Discs
probably
knew
everything
about blues
and jazz and
musicals but
not rock -
came across
this thing
and thought
"I
didn't pay
anything for
it, I'll
take a
tenner."
And we've
seen a lot
of that
where
experts have
joined the
fairs and
made a
living and
have always
had boxes of
stuff which
weren't
their kind
of bag, you
know. And
that still
happens
today.
Digger:
And it's
that
cliche
of being
in the
right
place at
the
right
time.
Like at
these
auctions,
you can
have the
wrong
sort of
people
for the
lot and
it won't
sell but
put it
in
another
room and
people
will be
fighting
each
other
for it.
How many
fairs do
you run
a year
and
where
Rob?
Rob:
We're
running
more or
less one a
week -
at one
stage
there
were 100
so we
were
doing
two a
week and
had two
vehicles
going to
two
different
places.
Digger:
Is it
quieter
now?
Rob:
The
Internet
has
effected
everything
but
around
three
years
ago it
all
stabilised
and,
in all
honesty,
the
organisers
that
weren't
very
good
all
dropped
out so
it's
really
just
shaken
the
business
up.
There's
one
magazine
now
where
there
were
probably
two
and
it's
all
settled
down
now.
We
recently
did
a new
fair
up at
Westminster
and
everybody
is
saying
it's
like
the
record
fairs
ten
years
ago.
Digger:
Westminster
Hall?
Rob:
Yes.
Where
the
film
fairs
are
held.
Rob:
Ed
Mason
is
still
running
them. Still
there
-
we
tried
it
and
it
was
a
roaring
success
and
a
nice
cafe
there
for
everybody
too.
Digger:
It's
a
nice
location
that
Westminster
Hall,
right
by
the
park.
Rob:
Our
fairs
-
they're
all
mentioned
on
the
website
and
it's
a
good
point
to
go
to
because
we've
almost
got
a
brochure
on
there
and
it's
always
there
with
the
latest
updates.
We
do
all
the
big
London
fairs,
all
the
big
fairs
in
the
Midlands,
we
do
one
major
show
out
in
Norwich
which
is
the
only
big
show
on
the
eastern
side
of
the
country.
A
lot
of
the
guys
like
it
and
because
it's
sixty
or
seventy
tables
the
public
will
travel
for
it.
We
have
a
massive
queue
when
we
start
the
day
there.
And
then
we
have
a
massive
show
in
Glasgow
as
well.
We've
started
recently
in
the
north
east
of
England,
because
some
friends
of
mine
who
ran
the
Lancashire
and
Yorkshire
events
just
wanted
to
retire.
So
we
took
it
over
and
we
now
go
into
Manchester,
Sheffield
and
Leeds.
As
you
can
see
we're
really
covering
most
of
the
country
on
the
fairs
side.
Digger:
What
sorts
of
dealers
and
customers
come
to
the
fairs?
Rob:
It's
across
the
board
really.
We're
starting
to
see a
few
younger
people,
but
generally
you're
looking
at
an
age
range
of
30
to
70
and
90%
male
-
all
of
them
love
their
music
and
are
looking
to
add
to
their
collections.
Digger:
Why
is
it
that
men
seem
to
be
such
avid
collectors
compared
to
women?
Rob:
It's
just
a
blokey
thing.
Digger:
At
the
toy
fairs
and
the
film
memorabilia
shows
it
always
seems
to
be
mostly
chaps.
Rob:
Absolutely.
You
find
the
men
come
in
and
the
women
go
off
an
buy
shoes.
Digger:
A
shoe
fair.
That's
an
idea...
Rob:
That's
a
good
idea.
Let's
run
a
shoe
fair.
Also,
in
recent
times
the
silver
lining
on
the
cloud
with
The
Internet
is
that
we
get
a
lot
of
people
coming
into
the
fairs
to
buy
and
re-sell
on
The
Internet.
This
is
quite
a
crucial
development
and
has
started
in
the
last
two
or
three
years.
Digger:
You
know
that's
what
they're
doing?
Rob:
We
do.
And
we
ourselves
have
a
wholesale
business
buying
and
selling
CDs
and
vinyl
and
we
stall
out
at
all
the
fairs
at
good
prices
simply
because
these
guys
will
want
to
look
for
a
discount
on
volume
and
we
give
it
to
them.
So,
in
a
way,
we
have
created
a
second
way
of
providing
income
for
people
by
wholesaling
to
them.
And
that's
happening
generally
all
round.
Digger:
Is
it
vinyl
and
CD?
Rob:
Yes,
vinyl
and
CD
and
some
books
at
some
of
the
fairs.
Posters,
DVDs
-
so
really
across
the
board.
It's
sort
of
half
CD
and
half
vinyl,
that's
the
split.
Vinyl's
still
very
popular
though.
Digger:
Is
digital
going
to
have
an
impact
on
you
over
time?
Rob:
Generally
we
noticed
with
the
vinyl
that
it
dropped
considerably
when
CDs
came
out
but
over
time
it's
built
and
built
and
built
and
there
is
definitely
a
vinyl
collecting
fraternity.
They
want
everything
mint
condition,
so
prices
for
a
sixties
album
in
mint
condition
have
gone
quite
high.
Digger:
So
that's
quite
good
in
a
way.
Rob:
Yes,
but
if
you've
got
a
mark
on
something
then
it's
not
worth
it.
It's
important
to
note
that
condition
is
everything.
But
also
with
the
CDs
that
seems
to
have
stabilised
a
bit
and
it's
obvious
that,
as
with
vinyl,
there
are
people
that
want
to
physically
own
an
album.
They
want
reading
material
to
go
with
it
and
to
have
their
own
library
of
music,
whereas
with
downloads
and
MP3s
a
lot
of
the
time
you
don't
know
much
about
it
-
you
know
the
track
title
but
you
don't
know
who
produced
it
or
who
mixed
it
or
who
was
playing
on
it.
Digger:
And
you
don't
get
the
artwork
Rob: And
you
don't
get
the
artwork.
So
I
strongly
suspect
that
although
there
will
be
a
shrinkage
in
the
CD
market
there
will
be
a
resurgence
and
a
reasonable
amount
of
people
still
wanting
to
collect
them.
Digger: If
somebody
has
a
largish
CD
or
vinyl
collection
they
want
to
sell,
what
should
they
do?
Rob: Well
obviously
contact
me.
We
find
a
lot
of
traders
want
to
pick
and
choose
or
cherry
pick
as
we
call
it
so
what
we
tend
to
do
is
turn
up
at
somebody's
house
with
a
transit
van
and
give
them
a
proper
price
on
everything.
So
if
they
want
everything
moved
out
at
a
fair
price
we'll
do
that
and
then
really
split
it
down
at
the
fairs
so
that
the
dealers
can
buy
one or
two
here
or
one
or
two
there.
And
that
tends
to
work
out
quite
well.
Digger: I
noticed
at
the
auction
that
some
boxes
of
100
records
went
for
£20
and
others
went
for
£200.
Somebody
had
looked
through
and
noticed
a
couple
of
gems.
Rob: Yes,
there
were
a
couple
of
good
bits
in
there
and
they're
probably
pass
the
rest
on
to
the
charity
shop,
which
we
do
as
well
-
supporting
a
few
charity
shops.
Digger: It's
recycling
as
well,
so
you
have
great
green
credentials.
Rob: Well
quite.
We
like
to
find
a
home
for
everything.
We've
also
just
developed,
through
this
large
purchasing
service
we've
done
a
couple
of
major
CD
libraries
and
major
radio
stations,
so
we're
developing
that
side.
So
if
anyone
is
looking
on
our
website
they
need
to
know
that
if
they
have
a
massive
library
of
items
we
have
somebody
who
will
deal
with
it.
Size
is
not
an
issue
and
we
have
been
known
to
rent
a
couple
of
seven
and
a
half
tonners
and
dozens
of
staff
clearing
libraries
out.
Digger: I
wonder
what
happened
to
John
Peel's
collection?
I
recall
he
had
reinforced
floors
in
his
house.
Digger: You've
just
moved
offices.
I
presume
this
is
as
a
result
of
expansion?
Rob: Yes,
we
needed
more
space
for
the
business
that
buys
and
sells.
Digger: Doing
well
in
this
climate
can't
be
bad,
can
it?
Rob: Exactly.
The
music
business
is
not
doing
terribly
well
at
the
moment.
Digger: The
big
music
companies
were
taken
by
surprise
with
The
Internet
and
digital
and
they
seemed
to
be
like
rabbits
in
the
headlights.
They
were
incredibly
slow
to
react
and
are
now
crying
foul.
What
also
amazes
me
is
they
have
such
a
big
resource
in
their
archives
and
they
could
make
a
fortune
out
of
all
the
images
and
material
that's
just
lying
in
vaults
if
they
packaged
it
well.
Digger: What
plans
have
you
got
for
VIP
Events
Rob?
Rob: We've
just
tested
Leeds
and
Westminster
this
year
so
they're
two
new
fairs
we
have
for
next
year
and
it
takes
up
most
of
the
weekends.
But
we
are
always
looking
to
expand
our
coverage
-
Cardiff,
for
example,
we
have
a
lot
of
clients
who
keep
asking
us
to
go
back
there.
Digger: Yes,
I
wondered
about
the
west
because
you
didn't
mention
it.
Rob: Cardiff
and
Bristol,
particularly
Cardiff,
the
council
just
wouldn't
put
signs
up
telling
people
where
we
were.
Digger: That
was
helpful
of
them.
Rob: We
needed
a
much
better
central
venue
which
we're
looking
for.
That
may
happen,
you
never
know.
But
we're
particularly
majoring
on
the
buying
and
selling
as
well.
That's
where
people
want
us,
where
we're
getting
phone
calls
all
the
time
and
we're
eon
the
road
twice
a
week
now
looking
at
large
collections
and
there's
more
coming
in.
And
it
all
has
to
be
processed.
(Laughs)
Digger:
It
sounds
as
though
there's
a
lot
going
on.
Digger: And
really
exciting.
Digger: And
well
done
you.
Digger: It
all
goes
back
to
that
original
decision
you
made.
Rob:
Yes,
you
look
back
and
it
was
a
no-brainer
really
but
at
the
time
it
was
a
risk.
And
to
some
extent,
okay
I'm
blowing
my
own
trumpet,
but
I've
created
the
marketplace
-
I
knew
something
was
there
that
could
be
tapped
into.
Digger:
And
you
did
it.
Rob:
We
did
it
and
we
got
people
interested
in
it
and
they
enjoy
it
and
make
a
living
out
of
it.
Digger:
What
do
you
enjoy
most
about
what
you're
doing? Rob:
Now,
I
suppose,
it's
buying
a
new
collection
of
CDs
or
vinyl
and
getting
it
back
here
and
actually
having
a
look
through
it.
Pulling
the
odd
thing
out
for
yourself.
Surprises
every
day.
And
it's
just
good
working
in
music,
really.
We
can
have
music
on
in
the
office
and
there's
no
boss
saying
"Turn
that
down."
One
of
them's
got
an
iPod
going
and
the
other's
playing
something
on
CD.
It's
like
a
crazy
disco.
Digger:
You
must
end
up
losing
a
lot
of
your
weekends?
Rob:
Well,
I'm
52
years
old
and
feeling
it
now,
so
I
try
to
design
it
so
that
I
don't
have
to
do
the
leg
work
so
often.
We've
got
lads
that
can
do
the
smaller
fairs
and
then
they're
keeping
the
name
out
there
and
it's
all
working.
So
I'm
getting
a
few
weekends
off
now
to
get
some
strength
back.
(Both
laugh)
Digger:
Well,
Rob,
it's
been
good
talking
to
you.
Rob:
And
to
you
David. Digger:
Well
done
and
I
hope
to
meet
you
at
Westminster.
I'll
pencil
that
one
in. Rob:
February
26th
2012. Digger:
Looking
forward
to
it. Rob:
Alright
boss.
Take
care
David. Digger:
Take
care.
Bye.
VIP Events - Music and
film fairs
across Europe and on-line
VIP
is the UK's specialist in buying large collections of vinyl,
Cds, DVDs, music related. No cherry picking. Call 07802258080
| Welcome to the world's only
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As a buyer, you can click on a stand and review part of
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Block 61b
The Whittle Estate
Cambridge Road
Whetstone
Leicester
LE8 6LH
England
Tel: +44 (0) 116 275 2815
E-mail: info@vip-24.com |
|
|
