1973 Soft Machine Liverpool University Poster

closed on Saturday, April 2, 2022

Final Auction Price
*Final prices include buyers premium
$1,440.00
Starting bid: $1.00
Total bids: 7

This ridiculously scarce poster promoted Soft Machine in Liverpool England in 1973 and is a crossover collector's dream. This poster appeals to a wide variety of fans, be it music fan, poster geek, or comic nut. It is beyond cool and beyond rare. It promotes an early influential British Psychedelic / Prog Rock Band with the central image of Captain America in striking dayglo UV color. This poster is also in amazing condition considering its age.

Soft Machine was an early psych/jazz fusion band that was part of the UK underground. The band evolved over the years into prog-rock legends. Soft Machine was an early band for Daevid Allen who then formed the French Psychedelic Band, Gong.

The recent evolution in the concert poster market is in part due to interest from the comic book collecting community. It is an easy gap to cross as the two meet at several intersections. First, they are both born from American Pop Culture. Silver age comics were at their peak at the same time the psychedelic sixties were in full bloom, and comic book references frequently pop up on posters. The two collectibles also share lineage as offshoots of American Illustration art. So, if 1960s era paper pop collectibles are your thing, this is the poster you've been looking for.

We have never seen this poster before, nor can we find any record of it on the web. We can't imagine many copies have survived or made it to this side of the pond, but we are certain of its authenticity. Other items in the collection support that it was an original piece from the day, so making estimates here is tricky. The sky's the limit! Excelsior!

--CRITICAL DETAILS--
--TITLE: Soft Machine Liverpool University
--GRADE: EXCELLENT 79
--PERFORMERS: Soft Machine
--VENUE: Liverpool University
--CITY: Liverpool, England
--DATE: 05/08/73
--DIMENSIONS: 29.75 in. x 20 in.
--PRINTING: OP-1; Poster