One of the most significant archives in the Chris Allison collection, this lot documents the creation of The Wedding Present’s 1989 Bizarro from initial songwriting and demo recordings through recording, arrangement and mastering.

At its centre is a handwritten demo cassette containing early versions of key Bizarro songs including ‘Be Honest’, ‘Kennedy’, ‘Why Didn’t You Just Say No?’, ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘Take Me!’. Accompanying the tape are original lyric sheets, studio arrangement documents, session paperwork and production notes that reveal how the material developed inside the studio.

The archive also includes DAT mastering formats, correspondence and release materials, preserving both the creative and technical processes behind one of The Wedding Present’s most celebrated albums.

Taken together, these documents provide an unusually detailed record of an album’s journey from first ideas and working lyrics through to finished masters and commercial release.

A percentage of Chris Allison's proceeds from this collection will be donated to Restore The Music charity (restorethemusicuk.com), a social impact charity that addresses systemic inequality in music education by providing capital grants to state schools in areas of high socio-economic deprivation.

Included in this Lot

• 1 x Handwritten Bizarro demo cassette
• Photocopied original lyric sheets
• Song manuscripts and arrangement notes
• Studio session paperwork
• Production correspondence
• 3 x DATs of rough mixes, master mixes and an EQ’d mastered version of the album
• 1 x master mixes cassette tape
• 1 x cassette tape of final mastered album
• 1 x original Bizarro vinyl album
• 1 x original Bizarro album cassette tape
  

Collectibility & Provenance

• Handwritten Bizarro demo cassette
• Photocopied lyric and manuscript pages with original notes
• Studio arrangement and recording sheets
• Production correspondence
• DAT mastering formats
• Release and promotional materials
• Direct provenance from Producer Chris Allison