He will turn 79 on May 24. But Robert Lacire does not do them. Seeing the years go by, the collector understood that he would never be able to realize his dream. This music enthusiast began an incredible collection of vinyl records sixty years ago, gradually building up the hope of bringing them together in a conservatory. Despite several attempts, the Rennais did not succeed. As he approaches eighty brooms, Robert Lacire has therefore made the decision to part with part of his immense collection. This Friday, 8,000 vinyls will be therefore sold at the West Auction room, reindeer. It is there, in a building on the road to Lorient, that the records will be sold in batches of fifty. Without any selection, sorting or ranking. A choice like Robert.
He welcomes us with little black boots on his feet. “It’s John Lennon’s boots. I received them in a batch of Beatles records. I have nothing to prove it but I like them. I take them out for special occasions. Tonight, I’m on TV so I wanted to take advantage of it. His passion for vinyl was born one day in 1963 in Algeria when he bought a record by Chet Atkins, an American guitarist known in particular for having collaborated with Elvis Presley. “I was a soldier in the army. I was good for nothing except playing records. We even set up a band there. Without knowing it, the Rennais has just discovered a devouring passion for the black galette. “I don’t even know why I bought so many. I really like the object, the story it tells, the beauty of the covers,” says the collector. Has he listened to them all? ” Of course not “.
This Friday at 2 p.m., the man will say goodbye to part of his collection. About 1.5 tons of vinyl out of the 21 tons he owns will be sold at auction. Moved? “Hell no. I’m not going to be buried with it. There is only one garage. I have others in an attic at my son’s, in another garage. I will have to make other sales,” he acknowledges.
Rock, jazz, variety… And some horrors
In the middle of the 8,000 vinyls of rock, jazz, baluche, reggae, variety or even blues, Coluche rubs shoulders with Sheila and Ray Charles in the same box. A few horrors performed on the accordion lurk here and there. “We wanted to make mixed batches, which could suit all tastes. We want to discover things that people did not necessarily know. A bit like a compilation from the 1980s,” explains auctioneer Pierre-Guillaume Klein, who prepared the sale. Each batch of 50 will be put on sale at a price of 20 euros. “We know that we will have people. Because vinyl is popular, it embodies the aesthetics of an era”.
Among the few identified rarities, Robert Lacire agreed to part with the White Album numbered Beatles. Or their album Yesterday and today whose so-called “butcher’s” cover had caused a scandal and had been removed. “I didn’t even realize I had all that,” admits the enthusiast. The man who founded the Dixie Music record store in Rennes had mainly invested in the 1990s, when the CD appeared and vinyl had become outdated. Without ever reselling anything, going almost to the point of ruining himself. On Friday, Robert Lacire will lose part of his collection, erasing part of his life. Without bitterness but with a lucid look at all these years spent antiquing. “I didn’t achieve everything, but I still had a full life.”