SYD’S MADCAP FLOORBOARDS SOLD . BUT HOW?

 

 

IAN HARRISON

TAKEN IN Wetherby Mansions in Earl’s Court,
the cover image of his 1970 solo debut
The Madcap Laughs contained intriguing clues.
Did the vase of wilting blooms signify his own
impending drift into endless silence, and the desth 

of the flower power hippie dream?

Barrett, poised like a frozen sprinter, wasn’t
telling, and seemed somehow stuck to
floorboards painted in alternating shades of
of orange and purple.

Part of the striking graphic appeal of the
sleeve – taken by Mick Rock in 1969 – were
these floorboards, which have occupied their
own place in the Barrett mythos ever since.
Now, 55 ywars on, the flooboards have been
found and sold by Newton-le-Willows-based
music specialists Omega Auctions.
Omega Auctions director and co-founder
Paul Fairweather recalls being contacted by
th new owners of Barrett's old flat
years ago. “They were having renovations
done and pulled up the carpets, and discovered
the floorboards pretty much s they
were when Syd originally painted them,”
says Fairweather. “When they realised what
they had, they contacted us.”

He says there are 70 sturdy, hand-painted
oak boards in total, some of them three metres
in length. “I handled a good 50 per cent of the
boards as we uploaded the van, he says of the.
the boards’ transfer to their premises. “You
can see there’s been a life lived on them –
there’s stuff stuck to them, holes where the
nails have been, cigarette burns, plenty of
footprints and plenty of dust. Somebody
painted the ceiling at some point, so there are
specks of paint all over them… if you looked
closely, you could probably piece together the
specific boards matching where
he was actually sat.”

With a list price of five
to 10 thousand pounds, the
auction director admits there
were enquiries from certain
interested parties. By the time
you read this, the floorboards
will have been sold, on July 2:
Fairweather imagines the
buyer will either keep the
boards together and possibly
recreated the floor or sell them
off in smaller increments.

He adds that Omega are
planning further sales, includ-
ing an October auction of items
from Peter Hook’s collection
of Haçienda memorabilia: the
famous club’s original doors,
stained glass and posters will be
included. They’ve previously handled Danny
Baker’s record collection, the Mark E Smith
archives, parts of the BBC’s record collection
and handwritten David Bowie lyrics. A Beatles
fan, Fairweather admits that Fabs-related
lots have their own frisson. In March this year
they sold three 1966 cassettes of audio diaries
made by Ringo for £10,000. “We listened to
those tapes as we were cataloguing them,” he
says. “It was incredible, because other than
ourselves and Ringo, there’s not many people
that will have actually heard them. The weird-
est thing we sold was probably John Lennon’s
tooth in 2011, which came
from his housekeeper and it
did 20 grand.

“It’s why I’m always check-
ing e-mails to see what comes
through,” adds Fairweather,
who says his own taste in music
runs through classic ’60s pop,
post-punk, Madchester and
indie, and admits he does covet
the Haçienda doors. “With
something like the floorbaords
there’s such a thrill because they
are such a fantastic bit of his-
tory. I used to be a collector, but
the hrill for me now is finding
these things and selling them
on behalf of our vendors. That’s
where I get my kicks.”

MOJO