When there is a tragic break-up or a separation involving a pop star, an emotional song usually follows soon after, detailing their feelings of loss and lament.
But The Chills frontman Martin Phillipps said that was very unlikely in his case.
The 60-year-old Dunedin musician has started selling much of his beloved pop culture collection on TradeMe and said he was surprised that he was not as sad about it as he thought he would be.
"I just feel like it’s the right time to let these things go.
"A lot of these things, I’ve not listened to for over 20 years.
"It’s time for someone else to appreciate them."
Over a lifetime of rubbing shoulders with the right people, he has managed to collect a massive array of pop culture items, including collectable books, comics, posters, toys, CDs, DVDs, and about 3000 rare records.
"I know I’ve got one of the best collections in the country of independent music from the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
"I’ve got a lot of the rare releases from that era.
"I’ve also inherited posters from Chris Knox and my manager Doug Hood, so I’ve got stuff going right back to Suburban Reptiles, which was one of the first punk bands to form in New Zealand.
"There’s some very notable New Zealand releases."
"There are people out there who are really excited about getting hold of some of this stuff.
"I’m not a fool — I realise that, because it comes from the Martin Phillipps Collection, it adds a bit more excitement."
The items were being sold with certificates, signed by himself, to say they were part of the Martin Phillipps Collection, and bidding on some of the items had already reached $700.
However, there were some things he would not sell.
"Some of it’s autographed. I keep a list of those and it’s become quite impressive, with people like Madonna, Lou Reed, and Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys.
"I think I’ll pass that kind of stuff on to my family."
Mr Phillipps said he was selling much of the collection so he could pay for repairs and maintenance on his house.
"It’s the first and only house I’ve ever owned.
"I’ve never really had responsibility for having to keep an eye on things like that. It’s over 100 years old and it needs some attention."
Selling the items online was a "massive" project, but he was getting a lot of help from friend and Dunedin Museum of Natural Mystery owner Bruce Mahalski.
The items would be "drip fed" to the site for the foreseeable future.
