David Ford - The Gentleman's Box

UPDATE: Bidding has now closed on the Gentleman's box. 

Certain members of Bobbysix.com have shared a stage and a tourbus with English singer/songwriter, David Ford, from time to time. The man is family to us. However, even were he not, we still firmly believe him to be one of the best live performers of his generation.

If you are a fan of the Ford, then you will certainly be interested in The Gentleman's Box. Essentially, it is an all-encompassing collection of David Ford products, releases and memorabilia from 2004 until, well, right now. From the original hat and suit, through Ford’s notebooks and promo & demo versions of recordings and albums, the ‘001’ copy of the Let The Hard Times Roll special edition album, to the originals of Ford’s album art work ideas, album ‘mastering – red book’ CDs and a copy of the original, pre I Sincerely Apologise, home demos CDr, it's all in one fuck-off great big suitcase. If it’s not in there then it no longer exists, or maybe never did.
 

The Gentleman’s Box is currently being auctioned here and you can bid for this until 7.30pm (UK time) on 30th November 2011. If the winning bidder is UK-based, Ford will personally deliver it and might even take you for a beer as well. Depending on the winning bid, that offer may even extend to Mainland Europe and North America. You can bid here now.

Have a kickabout with Oh Mercy! Dress like the Pet Shop Boys! Play on one of Katy Perry's bouncers! All for charity!

Following the horrific occurrences in Japan recently - in which more than 8,000 people died, thousands are injured and at least 12,000 are missing - it's not surprising that people are pulling together to help. In the music world, the EMI family have been rummaging through their cupboards in search of treasures they can auction to raise some much needed cash that will help to rebuild a country in which 14,000 homes were destroyed and around 100,000 damaged.

This week, heaps of ebay auctions end on some pretty amazing items - with all proceeds going to Red Cross Japan Relief. If you've got a few bob, you might want to bid on Deadmau5's diamonte Mau5head. Or maybe you fancy a signed Bowie back catalogue. Or, if you're feeling particularly macho, you could wear this Pet Shop Boys cube jacket to your local boozer. Then of course, there is Katy Perry's cupcake trampoline. Try having a go on that without squealing like an overexcited schoolgirl. There are heaps of other items too, like hand-written Pet Sounds lyrics and one of B-52's guitars.

There's a chance though, that all of the above are slightly out of your price range. They certainly are for us. However, here's an affordable and fun one that might appeal to the Australians amongst you. Melbourne's Oh Mercy (Alexander pictured below) are offering a bit of a kickabout with the winning bidder and four of their mates, as well as some signed stuff and a few photo opportunities. Sounds like an awesome afternoon to us, and all in the name of a very, very good cause. If you feel like testing your AFL skills against Alexander, Rohan, Simon and Eliza, while simultaneously doing a good deed, you can bid here. Meanwhile, check out all of the listings here.

Words by Rob Townsend