Simon, 60, was absent from Sunday Brunch last week as he mourned the passing of his father.The adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” could not be more accurate as a visitor on Antiques Roadshow was left speechless when he realised how much an item of “junk” was worth.
His “junk” item was a genuine perspex sign that featured in the background of live TV broadcasts during the Live Aid performance, displaying the renowned emblem with the guitar shaped like Africa.
The multi-venue benefit concert, held on July 12, 1985, was sponsored by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to collect cash for relief of the Ethiopian famine of 1983-1985.
Indeed, a staggering sum was gathered for charity owing to popular generosity and frantic requests from celebrities.
Our Antiques Roadshow visitor was in the heart of the action, working in catering and feeding the crews of acts like as Queen, Sir Elton John, The Who, and Sir Paul McCartney.
Now, you might be wondering how he, of all people, came to acquire such a valuable piece of memorabilia, which valuer Jon Baddeley hailed as ‘one of the most famous logos in the history of rock ‘n roll music.’
He explained on Sunday night’s episode: ‘I was actually looking for certain items that had been thrown out of my personal laundry. Somebody threw them out thinking it was rubbish.
‘And at the refuse area, that’s where I found this. I didn’t find my laundry, but I found this and that made up for it slightly.’
‘You weren’t looking for this at all? You were trying to find your clean underpants!’, the antiques expert quizzed.
‘Yes, and clean socks!’, the man joked.
Explaining the significance of the item, Jon continued: ‘This wasn’t part of the stage, it was part of the live broadcast when various stars came along and were interviewed
‘Seven or eight hours into the show, Bob Geldof asked, “How much money have we raised?”, and I think it came to £1.5million or something like that, and he was really cross after all the effort. So, when he went to do the live interview, he famously came up with the phrase… forget about this, just give us the money, with an expletive in there.
‘And because of his emotion and the force of his personality, it increased the donations by £300 per second.
‘And in the background, you’ll see this and another one, there were two.’
He went on to say that the endeavour raised a stunning £150 million for African hunger relief.
‘A massive amount in 1985. A lot of money now, even more then,’ said Jon.
‘It’s very rare.’
Because it is so rare, its current value is astounding.
‘If you ever decided to sell it, I think we’re talking a figure at auction today, between £8,000-£12,000,’ Jon said.
‘Wow. Incredible,’ the gentleman replied, clearly blown away.
He then remarked that his initial washing was probably worth roughly 60p – so we’re guessing he’s no longer missing his socks and underwear!
Antiques Roadshow airs Sunday nights on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.
