In 1985, hometown heroes the Replacements performed a live performance at Coffman Memorial Union on the College of Minnesota. The setlist seems to be superior. (They lined “September Gurls”!) On the gig, Minnesota music photographer Daniel Corrigan, who shot the enduring rooftop picture of the ‘Mats that grew to become the duvet of Let It Be, snapped some pictures of the band within the Coffman elevator. Till lately, framed copies of two of these photographs might be seen hanging at Coffman, however as Minneapolis resident Tim Johnson identified on Twitter, they’ve been eliminated.

A college librarian with the Twitter account @snackeru visited Coffman to inquire concerning the photographs and was informed by somebody on the welcome desk that the photographs have been eliminated attributable to scholar complaints. Allegedly the college fields “dozens and dozens” of complaints concerning the pics yearly as a result of certainly one of them exhibits Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg smoking. The clerk stated it’s attainable the photographs might be positioned someplace else within the constructing, however “it gained’t be for some time.”

Nevertheless, a press release from the college’s Pupil Unions and Actions workplace signifies that scholar complaints weren’t the explanation for the elimination. The assertion additionally clarifies that the photographs have been “respectfully deaccessioned and returned to their proprietor,” a college worker who’s a private good friend of the band. Right here’s the assertion:

The historic photographs of The Replacements, which have been displayed close to the elevators in Coffman Memorial Union for almost a decade, have been respectfully deaccessioned and returned to their proprietor. The art work is privately owned by a College worker who has a private relationship with the band and a ardour for Minnesota’s native music historical past.

Whereas there have been feedback made concerning the photographs through the years, the content material of the photographs was not an element within the elimination of the art work. Accessibility is a vital situation on campus, and Pupil Unions & Actions is within the strategy of updating the wayfinding signage within the Union’s areas to make it simpler for all to navigate. The house the place the photographs have been displayed and others all through the Union are being reevaluated as a part of that bigger challenge.

There’s a show close to The Entire Music Membership referring to The Replacements’ historical past on the College of Minnesota. We’re contemplating methods to proceed honoring this necessary piece of Gopher legacy sooner or later.

Coincidentally, Tommy Stinson has a brand new album out right now, and we simply revealed a unbelievable interview with him.