Kiwi Posters Popular Export
KIWI POSTERS POPULAR EXPORT
SALT 30 July 2002 Dix MEISTER
Jhon Dix
Hugh Lynn, once New Zealand’s highest profile rock’n’roll promoter, may have been away from the public eye for over a decade but he’s hardly been idle.
The Whakapuare Trust, a multicultural concept based on Australia’s Building Bridges programme, now has chapters in Indonesia and Zimbabwe (whakapuare translates as “opening of the doors”),
and 20 years of collecting memorabilia associated with his promotions is starting to pay off.
In the pipeline is a Whakapuare album, for which Lynn’s former business partner, Australian promoter Michael Chugg, is now recruiting acts.
The fundraising album aims to raise the profile of indigenous peoples. In the meantime, The Hugh Lynn Collection is about to launch its internet site.
The Collection has sold 800 items in the past 16 months, mostly posters. “We’ve sold very little to New Zealanders,” Hugh says. “Most of our sales have been overseas, mostly in the USA.
We have clients in all but three of the 52 US states and, at last count, we’ve sold to 32 or 33 different countries.”
And the most popular items? “Bob Dylan and Neil Young sell very well but, surprisingly, Jimmy Buffett posters are our most popular item. $US50 a pop Kiwis are still loathe to pay those price.
“Rock’ n ‘roll memorabilia is still new but it has been big in Britain and the States for years.”
Hugh Lynn - New Zealand 