Rare records and memorabilia from John Peel's personal archive going up for auction next month

Next month Bonhams Knightsbridge will host an auction for a series of items from John Peel's personal archive, which have been selected by his family "whist retaining the integrity of the John Peel Record Collection."

Among the items is a Mono Pressing LP of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins album from 1968, which is annotated by the artists and is expected to fetch between £15,000-20,000 at auction.

There's also an unreleased 1972 Marc Bolan record titled Hard On Love that is estimated to sell at auction for between £5,000-6,000, as well as a 7" of Joy Division's An Ideal For Living EP from 1978 that features a letter from Stephen Morris, which is estimated to go for a price between £4,000-6,000.

Bonhams will also auction off a 1988 7" single from Nirvana featuring "Love Buzz" and "Big Cheese", a 1987 7" of U2's Joshua Tree Collection, a Joy Division Unknown Pleasures poster, a five-sided, handwritten and signed letter from David Bowie, a note from Yoko Ono about some demos, a horn gramophone from John Peel's desk and much more.

The Ravenscroft family said of the auction, "By virtue of the role he played in it, John/Dad was in a position to have access to many of the most celebrated people and events in the history of popular music. This is reflected in a wealth of souvenirs he collected throughout his life. He had not only a voracious appetite for vinyl, but a keen sense of what memorabilia, ephemera and correspondence might find an interested audience in decades to come (though it could be argued that this was achieved by a strategy of keeping almost everything that crossed his path)."

"In going through the accumulation of 40 years of pop music moments, we decided that some of the most interesting items might find a home, with fans of his programme or of the artists whose music he played," the Ravenscroft family added. "Bonhams have assisted us to carefully select what is being offered for sale, and we hope these items find the attention and appreciation that we’re sure John/Dad would feel they warranted. We had no desire to split up his beloved record collection but have included in the sale a selection of particularly rare or unique records that do not take away from the integrity of his archive."

The Director of Bonhams Popular Culture department, Katherine Schofield, said, "John Peel had an incredible impact on the new music landscape. Without his passionate advocacy of emerging talent, generations of music lovers may never have heard the sounds of The Fall, The Undertones, The Sex Pistols, and countless others. This collection, offered directly by the family, comprises some of Peel’s most collectible and rare records, spanning decades in music – many of which are accompanied by letters from the artists or their management. A number of the test-pressings in this collection were the source of the first airplay for landmark songs. This sale offers a chance to own highlights from Peel’s unbeatable personal archive for the first time, and to share in Peel’s passion for music."