One of them was Ray Higgan (72), who has been an Elvis Presley fan since he had zits, and as soon as the doors of the Regent opened, he was like a hound dog and headed straight for the King’s table, which he almost swiped clean.
"I love his rock’n’roll music. I’ve seen most of his movies and I’ve got about 250 of his records.
"I’ve got coloured ones that have never been played - a lot of them are in very good condition."
He said he was such a fan in his youth, he even used to slick his hair just like Elvis.
"When I was young, my mum told me I had to go and get a haircut. Unfortunately, the Beatles were in the country at the time.
"I went to this barber and I said I’d like my hair like ... and he cut me off, saying ‘I know what you want’.
"And he gave me a haircut like the bloomin’ Beatles. I was not impressed.
"So I immediately went home, put Brylcreem on it and slicked it back.
"Elvis is No1. Always has been."
Mr Higgan said he was recently surprised to find Presley’s music was becoming popular again and a whole new generation of fans was developing.
"I have a great-granddaughter who’s nearly 16, and she used to be into One Direction and that type of stuff, but I’d play rock’n’roll and Elvis when she visited, and now her favourite is Elvis Presley.
"So I’ve bought a lot of stuff for her also."
Among the items he bought at the sale was a $100,000 banknote with Elvis’s face on it.
Mr Higgan said they were worthless as currency.
"They were popular in the United States but they’re purely collectors’ souvenirs.
"I’ll sell it to you for $50,000 if you like."
Mr Higgan was one of hundreds who scoured the tables at the Regent Theatre on Saturday, looking for records, DVDs, CDs, scores, sheet music, musical instruments and books.
All profits from the sale will go towards preserving the Regent Theatre and bringing top acts to Dunedin’s performing arts lovers.
