FORGOTTEN BIN BAGS ARE LIKE A TIME CAPSULE FROM 1985
Hidden music memorabilia found in ex-mike Lloyd’s shop... and this can
AN amazing treasure trove of music memorabilia from 1985 has been discovered in bin bags in a town centre shop.
Dan Thompson found the two bags stuffed under a staircase in a shop which housed Mike Lloyd Music’s Newcastle branch for 21 years.
He is currently the Newcastle Common artist-in-residence for arts organisation Appetite, which uses the High Street premises.
Dan was stunned to uncover a time capsule of the 1985 North Staffordshire music and comedy scene, including 20 posters advertising the likes of Haircut 100 at Keele University students’ union, Musical Youth at the Victoria Hall, The Krankies at the Queen’s Theatre in Burslem, and Rainbow at Stafford’s Bingley Hall.
There are also hundreds of ticket stubs for gigs at the Victoria Hall, including bands like The Alarm and The Damned, and promotional materials for albums and videos released in 1985.
Other artefacts include a vintage Diet Pepsi can and a wallet which must have been lost in the shop by a customer, complete with his family photographs, as well as flyers for the Mike Lloyd Music Rock Club and the store’s computer games rental scheme.
The Mike Lloyd Music store at 23 High Street, Newcastle, opened in 1972 and closed in 1993 when it moved to larger premises at Liverpool Road in the town. There were also branches in Hanley, Stafford and Wolverhampton.
The High Street store is now being used by host artists who create new works inspired by Newcastle and its people.
Dan, whose exhibition and workshops about peace and papermaking inspired by Newcastle-born pacifist Vera Brittain finished at the weekend, said: “I was surprised to see what was in there. The posters are a bit crumpled, but they are excellent quality. It’s a real snapshot of the time.
“You can tell from the flyers that Mike Lloyd Music was more than just a record store. From talking to people, it’s clear that it’s a shop that people in this area have a lot of affection for.”
Dan, who comes from Kent, plans to donate the haul to Appetite’s Bangers and Mosh archives, which celebrated the North Staffordshire live music scene, and hopes to be able to exhibit them in the future.
Mike Lloyd, whose Hanley store Music Mania was recently named UK independent record store of the month by Record Tokens, was astonished to learn about the find.
He said: “I had my office on the top floor of that building and I have no idea how these things got left behind. It’s incredible - it takes me back.
I can’t wait to have a good look at them.”