Former Mayor to Auction Five-Decade NME Collection

A former mayor is liquidating his collection of 3,000 NME magazines to create more loft space and generate funds for concert tickets. Tony Howard initiated his New Musical Express collection in 1966, at the age of 12, when he transitioned from reading comics to pursuing his primary passion: music. The extensive collection is projected to achieve up to £3,000 at an auction scheduled for Tuesday, according to John Taylors auctioneers in Louth. Mr. Howard, now 70 years old and having served twice as mayor of Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire, characterized the lot as “a wonderful reference book and backdrop to my life.” The NME, which began publication in 1952, ceased its weekly print edition in 2018 but continues to exist online. For six decades, acquiring a copy from the local newsagent was a significant tradition for many British teenagers. “I’ve read them every week as they’ve been published,” he stated. “I had a regular order with the newsagent, wherever I’ve lived, and had it delivered instead of a comic every week from 1966.” He further explained, “Then about a year later, in early ’67, I thought if I keep these I can always look back at these articles, constantly refer to them and keep abreast of everything.” “I just kept keeping them until I got about 3,000.” Mr. Howard’s collection is described as “almost complete,” with the exception of a few issues from approximately 1972 that were inadvertently discarded by his mother during a home tidying. Decades later, the music enthusiast is undertaking his own decluttering. He elaborated on his decision, stating, “I don’t refer to them as much nowadays as I used to and so I decided that rather than taking up a lot of space in my loft, I would turn them into something useful, like ready cash, and I could use that ready cash to go and see these bands that I’ve been reading about.” “I’ve had the enjoyment once. I get the enjoyment yet again.” The first event on the concert-goer’s itinerary is Jethro Tull in Germany. Since entering retirement, Mr. Howard has traveled extensively to see some of his favorite bands, including Roxy Music in Glasgow in 2023 and Bruce Springsteen in Sunderland. James Laverack, an auctioneer at John Taylors, remarked that Mr. Howard’s magazine hoard was “perhaps the finest ever to be offered at auction.” He added, “Other sales have had runs of the NME, some quite early, but involving limited periods. Nothing of this magnitude.” Mr. Laverack specified that the collection would be sold in three distinct segments: 1966-72, 1973-2018, and “a duplicate copies lot.” “It’s a win win all round,” Mr. Howard concluded.