Man Wins Spandau Ballet in Raffle
Congratulations to Mr Trevor Plantagenet who recently won Spandau Ballet in a raffle. Mr Plantagenet is particularly delighted as he is a keen collector of eighties pop stars - he is already the proud owner of Tears for Fears and Yazoo, and has a part share in Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Spandex Ballet
"I first got interested in collecting musicians when I was at college," he told us. "A friend of mine had picked up a second-hand Adam Ant at a car boot sale. It was a bit battered around the edges and one of the ears had come off, but the thrill of owning the genuine article was undeniable."
Adam Adamant
Mr Plantagenet's first acquisition was Depeche Mode, which he bought from an Oxfam shop for a pound. "It was quite a bargain," he said. "Okay, it wasn't complete because the drummer was missing and the bass player was slightly scratched. That kind of thing can seriously affect the value, but I didn't care. For me it was real find."
Over the next few years Mr Plantagenet gradually built up his collection, adding the likes of Heaven Seventeen, Level 42, Wham and two different versions of Bucks Fizz. But recent eighties revivals have forced up the prices of many groups, to the point where bands like Culture Club or Erasure can change hands at auction for tens of thousands of pounds. This is most definitely out of Mr Plantagenet's price range and has seriously dented his hopes of ever owning his ultimate dream group, Duran Duran.
Simon le Pompom
"I was within sniffing distance of Simon le Bon at a bring-and-buy sale in Norwich, one time," Mr Plantagenet mused. "That's the closest I've ever got. But owning Spandau Ballet is the next best thing and I'm really pleased to have won. I think I'm going to display them in the living room next to the china cabinet. It's out of the way of the coffee table and it will be easy to hoover round them."