The poster, which advertised a July 1981 The Clean and The Verlaines gig at the Empire Tavern — believed to be the first Dunedin Sound gig at that venue — had been signed by Dr Graeme Downes, of The Verlaines; Denise Roughan, of Look Blue Go Purple and The 3Ds; Robert Scott, of The Clean and The Bats; Martin Phillipps, of The Chills; The Clean founder David Kilgour; Alastair Galbraith, of The Rip and Plagal Grind, and other luminaries from the scene.
The poster was sold for $400 to a local buyer.
Hayward’s auctioneer John More said the poster had been recently found by former Empire Tavern owner Maureen Simpson at her home.
"She found it behind a china cabinet. She was downsizing, and she didn’t realise she still owned it," Mr More said.
"The poster was a gift to them from all those bands that had played at that venue during the time that Maureen and her late husband John ran the Empire Tavern; they gave it to them after they decided to sell up in 1989."
Mr More said the poster was a key historical artefact of Dunedin’s cultural history.
"You’ll never be able to get another chance to get a hold of this item," he said.
"I think it represents a specific time, it recalls some of the better days of Dunedin music."
Mr More said there had been quite a bit of interest in the item, including some people who had ties to the Empire Tavern.
The Empire Tavern, which is a category 1 Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga building, was one of the oldest establishments in Dunedin, opening as the Queen’s Arms Coffee and Dining Rooms in 1858.
Robert Scott said the Empire Tavern was "the right place at the right time" for the Dunedin music scene in the1980s.
"The owners were extremely accommodating, virtually anyone could play there as long as they had an original idea," Mr Scott said.
"They allowed an incredible range of original music at the venue, which was a new thing for Dunedin at the time, and there would always be a really good crowd.
"It was a musical explosion."
Mr Scott said it was a "surprise" to hear about the poster resurfacing.
"At the time, the poster scene was very exciting, too.
"There was a lot of original artwork.
"Now that many of the originals are going for good money, I’m lucky I kept a lot of them."
Mr Scott said he would not be bidding on this particular poster.
"I will leave that to the uber-fans," he said.
