Autographs, Classic or Dud?

My advice is to try and garner the person before asking. If you're a journalist then it's kinda breaking face to ask, but from time to time I do it anyway. Fuck it, you know...

But the situation where a famous person signs stuff to be auctioned proceeds to xxx relief, I say NO! Do not sell out your fans that way! So your autograph might raise, say, £2K? Do the decent thing and pay it yourself.

what if you pay yourself and do the autograph?

Kylie Minogue donates those shorts from the "Can't get you out of my trousers" video to an auction for the benefit of xxx relief. The shorts raised £3000 from an anonymous bidder.

Now, quickly. Who donated to xxx relief?

Now, quickly. Who donated to xxx relief?

the anonymous person did. but what would have happened if this didn't happen?? kylie could have just donated those trousers to the charity shop anonymously, and they'd sell for like £5. which is better for xxx relief?

i guess it's putting xxx relief over your fans. is that so wrong? (depends on what the xxx is really)

I guess it comes down to "Are these your fans, and should you donate them (or their money) to charity in your name?" At least (for example) Bono 'requests' and the response isn't linked directly to him.

the other person is just some perv who bought kylie's pants when he could have donated that money directly, without obtaining kylie's pants? this person has just bought something, the proceeds of which went to charity. would he have done it without the pants?

I kinda derailed this. I meant to keep it to "Autographs" but spangly pants distracted me.

No there was a call-out for famous folks to donate stuff so fans could buy them and donate the money. I always have misgivings about that kind of thing.

Better that they send the money and then have sex with the winning bidder.

I'm feeling a bit light headed. Someone else drive.

Xpost - depends. It's giving the fan something special and as long as they put a weight and age limit on the bidders they probably won't find it too painful to give, say, topless relief.

http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/7402/vanvalkenburghdeborah1nb.jpg

http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/5514/agutter4w6xw.jpg

http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/4350/brookeadams4w7ht.jpg

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/868/pamanderson4w3nr.jpg

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/2496/bachcatherine4w4aa.jpg

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/3505/batemanjustine4w2ic.jpg

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9700/quistallenindiadrake4w1mz.jpg

Funnily enough, someone got Badly Drawn Boy to sign a stack of promotional beermats and sold them off for charity (Warchild, I believe). And I bought one, thus selling my stated principle out (as stated upthread.)

Still, good thread, debate etc.

Ringo 'too busy' for autographs

Starr said he had "too much to do" to continue signing objects
Former Beatle Ringo Starr will no longer sign memorabilia for fans and will throw away all fan mail he receives in the future, he has said.

"Please do not send fan mail to any address you have," he said in a video message on his website.

"Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October. If that is the date on the envelope, it's gonna be tossed.

So, I can see that there's a healthy trading market in Beatles signatures on slightly valuable ethings, making them more valuable.

But what's the concensus on autographs thesedays?

Speaking for myself, the last autograph I obtained was Mo Tucker and Sterling Morrison when they played reading uni, what could top that?

Aside from that one-off, I have met the occasional famous person and left them with no more than a memory since 1981 or thereabouts. As a kid, I was lucky to be on a TV pop quiz, so got to meet MBolan, RWakeman, Sparks and Alvin Stardust, and various other pop stars and non-pop stars. But they are all in a nice autograph book (actually, come to think of it, my sister collected them all! OK, as you were)

OK, so we're all older now and clever swines, but who does this still? For non-pecuniary reasons? (must look that word up)...

oh, damn that apos business!

For a while I signed the CDs of every concert I saw. I was there, I didn't have to bother the musicians, the things looked autographed, everyone got what they wanted.

From a Sports Collectors Digest piece on the recent baseball HOF weekend:

One Main Street shop delivered a "rogues gallery" of signers featuring disgraced former Braves reliever John Rocker signing next to Mets and Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra. Dykstra, recently released from a federal penitentiary, was signing for $25 a pop. Rocker's price was $20, though he would add profanity on the ball for an extra $5. Yes, you read that correctly--an additional $5 for profanity!

http://www.sportscollectorsdigest.com/featured/cooperstown-weekend-2015-pedro-danced-reggie-cursed-and-pete-disappeared