Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul on December 2, 2015 at 7:25pm

Well he lied.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on December 2, 2015 at 7:33pm

I suspected so but there was really no reason to pursue it. I enjoyed some of his posts but you had to take everything with "a grain of salt". Unfair of him to drop a bomb and leave. Why not question the man. At least Mr Duncan has come on to respond.

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Permalink Reply by Chad B on December 2, 2015 at 12:42pm

The Doors items look great.

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Permalink Reply by Fran on December 2, 2015 at 2:05pm

I have just visited your site Stephen. A friend of mine has written to me today and he wanted to know my opinion about your Queen signed photographs.
Some of them are genuine but I haven't found any of your Freddie Mercurys genuine. A couple of Freddies are very well forged I have to admit it.I think you've been deceived. That's only my opinion. Maybe other Queen collectors don't agree with me... Innuendo is a good one... You should ask him and the Great Calo as well.

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Permalink Reply by Innuendo on December 2, 2015 at 4:50pm

Hi Fran. I've already commented on this in regards to Queen yesterday.

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Permalink Reply by Innuendo on December 3, 2015 at 12:19am

Well Stephen, unfortunately the promo photo signed in blue pen you also say you owe thanks to from Brian is 100% fake as it is signed by a member of the Queen crew and is known as a fan club secreterial. So it actually isn't too far off for someone to assume Brian again just had somebody send you something that may not necessarily have been Freddie. Unfortunately, I see a few of your Queen items are not genuine, but I am glad that you did not claim to have gotten them yourself. As that would be an outright lie. I do believe (as I mentioned in my comment from yesterday) that you are not a shady dealer, but a man who just puts too much confidence in the items sent to him by celebs. Again, as I mentioned in my first comment, the two Freddie signatures have been discussed by some of the greatest Queen autograph collectors of the world, and we agreed the best we can give you on it is "unsure". The News of the World Brian is also 100% fake. As is the promo photo as previously mentioned. I do appreciate your taking the time to discuss this, however I do feel it's important to make clear that just because Brian may have told you he'd do something, absolutely does not mean that he did. Most times when he'd meet a fan, he'd sign there on the spot. A situation like yours where he told you he'd get Freddie to send you something is very rare and I've certainly never heard of it before or since- which leads me to believe (again as I mentioned in my first comment) that the message was passed along to his PA or the fan club who then sent you something that was not necessarily from Freddie himself. Sorry. I've been studying, buying and selling Queen for over 30 years now, and I wish I could tell you the items were all genuine, but I cant.

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Permalink Reply by Innuendo on December 3, 2015 at 5:13am

If you had photo proof, sure. Of course I would. There's no need to get up in arms here, Stephen. But I also do not believe this item is genuinely signed by Brian. Show me photo proof of him signing it where I can see this exact signature on it and him holding it, and we will take it from there.

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Permalink Reply by Fran on December 3, 2015 at 7:57am

Excuse me for butting in... but that News of the World LP is impossible to have been signed by Queen, as its forger is very well known by all of us Queen autographs collectors. We could discuss your "Best Wishes" photos signed by Freddie and have some doubts... but I have no doubt (and I suppose Innuendo neither) that this is a well-known forgery by us. 

It will be impossible for you to find a photo proof of this photo signed in person due to the fact that they didn't sign it. It's obvious that Brian May didn't do his homework. Comparing to my signed items by Freddie in 1991, your signatures simply don't match.

Sorry again for walking in on the middle of the conversation!!! 

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Permalink Reply by Fran on December 3, 2015 at 8:59am

Sorry... it's not the News of The World LP what I meant... It's the "black and white" photo where you say that "the story is true".

In fact, the LP seems to have the ugliest auto I've ever seen by Brian... but it could be perfectly good.

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Permalink Reply by 2t7o4rndea2r0 on December 3, 2015 at 8:07am

As a relative rookie collector, I find this particular interaction to be most interesting.  By all accounts Innuendo is a highly experienced Queen expert, and while his conclusions may be correct or incorrect, he generally presents his opinions reasonably and with courtesy.  In this case, Stephen, and I believe his wife, spent some 30+ minutes in private conversation with Brian May, during which time Brian signed the News of the World LP.  For Innuendo to reject this signature as a forgery discredits Stephen's account.  Stephen says Brian signed the LP standing right in front of him.  Innuendo says, no he didn't.  Can't be any other way.  When two guys, well-meaning and honest, come to such an impasse, how is this type of situation resolved?  At what point does a person in Innuendo's position concede that perhaps he must expand his opportunity set of authentic signatures to include this one?  It is, of course, a rhetorical question.  But it gets to the heart of at least part of this entire discussion.  Echoing comments from Steve Cyrkin and later Bruce Juice, both of which I agree with wholeheartedly, if Stephen says he was there, then he was there.  His responses on this thread further establish his credibility.  To suggest otherwise goes beyond offering an opinion about the quality or authenticity of a signature. It goes to the integrity of the person.  And I just don't see how people who are strangers can feel comfortable leveling accusations of dishonesty.  I certainly couldn't, wouldn't do it.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on December 3, 2015 at 8:33am

From my perspective you have a lot of seasoned collectors and experts calling out some of Stephen's autographs here as forgeries, and Stephen is not offering any rebuttal other than uncorroborated stories and his word that the autographs are authentic.  Unless he can start definitively proving his points, I can't come to any other conclusion other than he is lying.  It wouldn't be the first time a respected member of the hobby has been caught outside the line.

I would like to give Stephen the benefit of the doubt based on testimony from other members who know him personally, but his replies aren't providing anything substantial, and some of them are just clearly BS.

I don't have a stake in this either way, this is just my viewpoint from knowing the members here, autographs and looking at the evidence in front of me.

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Permalink Reply by 2t7o4rndea2r0 on December 3, 2015 at 9:20am

I understand your comments Mike.  I'm not certain what any person can do to corroborate a story.  Stephen's explanation, for example, of how he obtained the three signed McCartney books - he got in line for one - the person who came with him got in line for one - and he stood outside and offered those leaving the store $$ to buy their copy.  That either happened or it didn't.  You believe the story or you don't.  I'm not sure how that could be corroborated.  I'm sure Stephen is trying to go down the list and address what he can.  Some responses will be satisfactory to some or all.  Some may not.  In cases where the critical observations of a member may have merit, Stephen seems ready and willing to acknowledge it.  The Queen photo, which Innuendo and I believe Fran, have suggested is a fan club forgery, is a good example.  At the end of the day, each person is going to have to determine for themselves if Stephen is a credible person.  Nothing he has posted on this thread so far diminishes his credibility with me in the slightest.  Parting thought - as a person who has purchased items from Stephen, as you well know, I do believe he has some measure of responsibility to answering questions I may have about the items I'm considering purchasing.  But as a general matter, in my opinion, he has no obligation whatsoever to even participate in this discussion.  Nobody here is entitled to anything from him whatsoever.  This entire discussion was initiated by someone who lobbed a grenade and ran away.  

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