Memorabilia from Ultravox’s Live Aid performance to be auctioned

Items from Ultravox’s Live Aid performance nearly 40 years ago are to go under the hammer.

Bass player Chris Cross’s guitar from the Wembley concert, his Live Aid security pass, ticket stub and official Live Aid T-shirt will all be sold next month.

Included in the sale are Cross’s platinum disc for the Band Aid single, Do They Know Its Christmas? and the Ibanez Blazer bass guitar he used on many Ultravox albums and performances.

Also being sold are the 1980s Oxford synthesiser used on the hit 1984 single Love’s Great Adventure and an EMS Synthi AKS synthesiser used for the bass parts on Ultravox’s ground-breaking first album, Ultravox!

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs with Chris Cross’s Live Aid bass guitar (Gardiner Houlgate/PA)

A Yamaha SG2000 electric guitar used by former Ultravox singer, Midge Ure, co-organiser of Band Aid and Live Aid alongside Bob Geldof, is also being auctioned.

The items are being sold following the death in March of Cross and the auction will take place at Gardiner Houlgate auctioneers in Corsham, Wiltshire, on December 3.

Cross was one of the co-writers of Ultravox’s biggest hit, the 1981 single Vienna, which reached number two in the UK chart and number one in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands.

In addition to more than 30 guitars and a range of synthesisers, the Chris Cross collection includes Ultravox gold discs from around the world, promotional items for the band, tour merchandise, rare vinyl and equipment.

Cross was a member of Ultravox from the band’s formation in the mid-1970s until its split in 1987. He retired from the music industry to become a psychotherapist.

Chris’s collection connects to some of the most iconic moments of the 1980s. Not just Band Aid and Live Aid, but also key points in Ultravox’s career as they transitioned from synth pioneers to pop stardom

Luke Hobbs, auctioneer

Speaking from his home in Portugal, Midge Ure said: “Chris was the glue that held Ultravox together.

“There was a reason why he counselled troubled kids after we split. Ultravox was a great training ground for a career in therapy.”

The 1982 Squier bass played by Cross at the Live Aid concert is expected to fetch in excess of £4,000.

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs said: “Chris’s collection connects to some of the most iconic moments of the 1980s.

“Not just Band Aid and Live Aid, but also key points in Ultravox’s career as they transitioned from synth pioneers to pop stardom.

“We’re expecting interest from around the world. Many people who grew up in the 1980s are collecting this kind of memorabilia.

“For musicians, Chris’s collection of around 400 items is a real treasure trove.”