Featured Image Credit: BBC
Topics: Charity, Music, Film and TV, BBC
Britt Jones
An Antiques Roadshow expert once refused to value an item due to its past.
The show’s star valuator Marc Allum took a peek at a collection brought to the location, and point blank said no to the items.
Allum met up with the group who created a charity concert for Live Aid, and Leon, an organizer, came along with memorabilia which was taken from the 80s.
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The BRAFA (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal) charity concert was held to raise money for Ethiopia, and you may have heard the song which accompanied the campaign.
A little track called 'Let's Make Africa Green Again'.
Allum told him: "Yourself, obviously, being an instrumental an important kingpin on the whole of BRAFA, but I can't help but mention the fact that everybody behind me here was also involved.
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"So, let's go back in time and talk about why BRAFA originated and we're talking about basically the famine in Ethiopia in 1984, there was something missing from Live Aid, wasn't there?"
Leon explained: "Band Aid raised millions, and Bob Geldof had the contacts to these major artists, but at the time we had major artists in the charts like Trevor Walters and many others, and we weren't called upon.
"So we didn't object against what he was doing, but we wanted to be seen doing something as African descendants helping the people."
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He shared that ‘about 200’ people contributed to the song.
Allum said: "So we've got a copy of 'Let's Make Africa Green Again' here, we've got various bits and photographs and I can see there's a photograph behind you there with Princess Anne - and are you in that photograph, Leon?"
Leon confirmed that it was him in the image and was asked: "This is something that has been brought to life in a much bigger way now as well, hasn't it?
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"It was something extremely important to you and we talk about values and things on this show and you know, I can talk about the value of these items in front of us here and maybe there's a few hundred pounds worth but that's not what's important here, is it?”
Allum went on to explain that he wasn’t going to value it as it was worth so much more than money.
He said: "It's about social history and it's about what you did out there, the money you raised and it's massively important to see that reinvented in a way that brings it back to people and younger generations too."
The expert then asked him to sing the song and the gathering audience were treated to a little sing-along on the show.