U2 Not Such Big Money Makers After All

It’s March 12th and the Madrid photo I discussed at the outset of the now-ended U2 auction remains in the Cashman collection.

“U2 1987 Madrid Candid Photograph” is among the 10 items that went without bidders in former U2 stylist Lola Cashman’s auction of band memorabilia. The tour itineraries pictured above, however, make up one of the six lots that sold for a combined total of just over $11,000 yesterday.

While that’s no small figure, the Evening Herald reports that the projected draw had been around €40,000, or about $55,000.

The top earners include one of Bono’s rosary necklaces ($6336) and a polaroid of the singer that had been signed by the photographer ($1800). A set list U2 had used for a 1987 concert was the most fought over lot, going for $1548 after four bidders. (You can view all the offerings at GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com.)

So what killed the auction? Was it the bad buzz that hovered over Cashman and her memorabilia after some very public legal wrangling with U2 over the items’ ownership? Inflated minimum bid prices? Maybe a lack of interest in these particular lots? There was no lack of interest elsewhere in the site’s Rock and Roll Auction: a few Elvis and Michael Jackson items earned tens of thousands.

Whatever the cause, after nearly a decade since Cashman first tried selling off these and other goods, her long-awaited auction has yielded underwhelming results.

Banner image from Joshua Tree Tour Itinerary Books at GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com