Panic 7" sleeve signed by all four Smiths

[ericnixon]

Hi there!

I'm just trying to get a feel to see if there'd by any interest in this or not. I have a 7" sleeve for Panic that was signed by all four Smiths that I'm maybe kinda sorta somewhat considering selling (still not sure though). I just realized I should have taken a picture of it first before posting this, but bascially all four of them signed it in ball-point pen (not the best choice of writing implements to use on a record sleeve) and it also has a number "47" (pretty sure it's that, I'd have to check) written on cover star Richard Bradford's nose. Why? I'm not sure. The number aside, it is signed by Morrissey, Marr, Rourke, and Joyce - which is pretty damn cool.

Anyway, if there's some good interest in this, I might consider selling it.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd be interested in it once I'd seen pics and could confirm the signatures. There's a bazillion fakes on the market (thanks eBay), but if you truly have an authentic item then we'd all like to know.
Cheers, Tammy

 

[ericnixon]

Alright, I finally found it (see pics). I bought this in the mid 90s ('94 or '95) from a record store in Northampton, Massachusetts (since closed). Ever since, I've kept it in a glassed-in frame. Tammy (above) raised the notion of tons of fakes being out there. In 1997 my (now) ex-wife and I got Morrissey to sign our Maladjusted cd booklet before his show in Boston (see other photo [sorry it's kinda blurry] which shows the signed cd booklet and a photo I took of Morrissey actually signing it). My ex has that Maladjusted booklet, but the lettering is the same from that to the Panic 7" sleeve.

I was wrong on the number written on the sleeve. Someone wrote "37" on the bridge of the cover star (Richard Bradford)'s nose. I'm merely guessing here, but I think this might have been some sort of record company or radio station promotion thing where they had a certain number of records signed. My wife used to work in PR at the Denver Center For The Performing Arts and said that's what they did when they'd have the cast of Broadway musicals sign posters and would limit it to a certain number of posters (like 50 or 100). Anyway, that's just a thought on why it says, "37" on it.

I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking to sell it, but if a really good offer comes along, I might be tempted to part with it.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[ericnixon]

If you're interested, this is now up on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151059723727

 

[elephant6ers]

Maladjusted is real no doubt(even w/o the moz pic), but the panic sleeve is an obvious fake(all four sigs are).

Alright, I finally found it (see pics). I bought this in the mid 90s ('94 or '95) from a record store in Northampton, Massachusetts (since closed). Ever since, I've kept it in a glassed-in frame. Tammy (above) raised the notion of tons of fakes being out there. In 1997 my (now) ex-wife and I got Morrissey to sign our Maladjusted cd booklet before his show in Boston (see other photo [sorry it's kinda blurry] which shows the signed cd booklet and a photo I took of Morrissey actually signing it). My ex has that Maladjusted booklet, but the lettering is the same from that to the Panic 7" sleeve.

I was wrong on the number written on the sleeve. Someone wrote "37" on the bridge of the cover star (Richard Bradford)'s nose. I'm merely guessing here, but I think this might have been some sort of record company or radio station promotion thing where they had a certain number of records signed. My wife used to work in PR at the Denver Center For The Performing Arts and said that's what they did when they'd have the cast of Broadway musicals sign posters and would limit it to a certain number of posters (like 50 or 100). Anyway, that's just a thought on why it says, "37" on it.

I'm not entirely sure if I'm looking to sell it, but if a really good offer comes along, I might be tempted to part with it.

Thanks,
EricView attachment 15609View attachment 15610View attachment 15611

 

[ericnixon]

The thing is unless you were actually there to witness something being signed, or had a video of something being signed, you don't know for sure. Yeah, you can make an educated guess based on other examples of signatures you've seen, but you don't know 100% for sure. Neither do I, but I have good reason to believe that this is the real deal based on several factors already mentioned above.

I write books. I seriously doubt that any two signatures I've written when signing my books have been exactly the same. The same goes for my wife. She's signed thousands of her books, and while her signature is a lot more consistent than mine, it does vary not only on the situation, but also over time. When my wife was young, she was hired to clean out someone's house and discovered a treasure trove of letters and autographed photos from A-list celebrities from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Apparently the former owner of the house, when she was young, wrote to celebrities asking them for their favorite recipe and wanted to make a cookbook from the recipes. A few actually sent recipes (like Lucille Ball), but most just sent autographed pictures. Do we know if the autographs are real or not? No, we don't. I've heard that big movies houses used to have their secretaries and phone operators sign stacks of photos for celebrities. Still, even knowing that, it's still pretty damn cool to have a huge pile of these autographs. We will never know for 100% sure if they're all real, but that's the chance you take when you get autographs that you personally did not see happen.

All of that being said, like most everyone on here, I've been a HUGE Moz/Smiths fan for a long time. At one point I had amassed a huge collection that included every 7" record (despite not owning a record player), including rare variations and alternate covers, plus all of the original Smiths Rough Trade CD singles, other things like Peepholism, etc. I used to have it all, but, over time, I've parted with parts of my collection here, either out of financial need, or as a way to cut down on the amount of stuff I own. I have just a couple of cds left ("Thank Your Lucky Stars" and "Interlude"), but this signed 7" sleeve for Panic is the one thing that I may never part with. Yeah, I have it listed on Ebay right now, but if it doesn't make the reserve, and therefore doesn't sell, trust me when I say it's not a problem. I will happily keep it hanging on the wall with my hundreds of framed concert tickets and other signed cd booklets I've gotten autographed over the years. I was personally curious to see if there was a financial interest in this rarity that outweighed my emotional connection to it.

 

[Dave2006]

Are you THE Eric Nixon. The goalie with the massive hands...

I think you hit the nail on the head with your first line "The thing is unless you were actually there to witness something being signed, or had a video of something being signed, you don't know for sure."

Dave

 

[ALLIE WALLS]

In my view this is 100 per cent legit. I ve been collecting Smiths sigs for years.

 

[ericnixon]

Ha ha! No, sorry. I'm the Eric Nixon from the US who is a poet and the author of Emily Dickinson, Superhero. I am friends with THE Eric Nixon on Twitter, and every once in a while I get new followers on Twitter who are confused when I tweet about poetry instead of last night's football match.

 

[Tammy Waynette]

100% fake. I'd bet my life on it.

 

[darby1974]

Looks 100% real to me.

 

[sarah25]

I'd be enthusiastic about it once I'd seen photos and could validate the signatures. There's a bazillion imitations available on the industry, but if you truly have an genuine product then we'd all like to know.