The wooden balls that you can see dangling between Mick Fleetwood’s legs on the cover of seminal 1976 Fleetwood Mac album Rumours have sold for $128,000 at auction in Beverly Hills, California.
The ornamental orbs were auctioned off by Julien’s over the weekend as part of a sale of property owned by Fleetwood, the late Christine McVie and John McVie.
Speaking to Maui Time Weekly in 2009, Fleetwood confirmed that the balls in question were actually lavatory chains: “I came out - and I must admit I had a couple of glasses of English ale - and came out of the toilet with these, I ripped them off the - you know, I was very destructive - I ripped them off the toilet and had them hanging down between my legs.”
Fleetwood also said that the balls were a nod to his band’s past: "In truth, I started off as a blues player,” he explained. “The whole ethic of a lot of blues music is slightly suggestive, might I say. And suitably, I walked out on stage with these two lavatory chains with these wooden balls hanging down, and after that it just stuck."
According to Julien’s Auctions' description, both balls feature a dark finish that has been worn away in a band around the circumference, exposing the lighter wood beneath. They’re attached to leather cords and come supplied in a soft maroon cloth drawstring case with the words ‘Open Sesame’ embroidered in gold-tone thread.
Another highlight of the sale was a one-of-a-kind Alembic Series 1 custom fretless electric bass guitar owned by John McVie, which sold for $100,000. This features a stainless steel fingerboard and was made specifically for McVie, who used it both in the studio and on stage between 1976 and 1980. In fact, it was the instrument used to record The Chain, which features one of the most famous and recognisable bass breaks in rock music history.
Another lot with a Rumours connection was the vintage maxi dress worn by Christine McVie on the album’s back cover. This sold for $56,250. McVie’s Yamaha E3 Series Diskclavier electric piano was also up for grabs, eventually selling for $22,400. This features a custom cover with the words ‘Christine Fucking McVie’ embroided across it.
You can check out the full selection of lots on the Julien’s Auctions website.
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