Tori Sheehan
A new record was broken. As Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour‘s guitar sells for $14.55 million at Christie’s auction.
Broken Record
The record for the most expensive guitar ever sold was previously held by Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic. The same guitar Kurt used during the iconic MTV Unplugged performance in 1993, just five months before his death. The previous record was $6 million.
Another one of Kurt’s guitars broke that record at the Christie’s auction. His blue Fender Mustang, featured in the music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, sold for $6.9 million.
The Iconic Black Strat
David Gilmour used this guitar on six Pink Floyd albums. It sold to an unnamed buyer for $14.55 million, just 21 minutes after bidding started. The 1969 Fender Stratocaster was nicknamed the “Black Strat” as David Gilmour had replaced the regular white pickguard with a custom-made black pickguard.
David Gilmour used the Black Strat to play songs like “Money” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”. Before the auction, estimated that the Black Strat would sell for $2-4 million. When talking about Black Strat, David Gilmour said, “These guitars have been very good to me. They’re my friends. They have given me lots of music. I just think that they went off and served someone else”.
What Is Christie’s Auction
Christie’s The Jim Irsay Collection runs from March 3 – 17. David Gilmour donated 120 guitars to the charity. The Jim Irsay collection includes guitars, photographs and memorabilia. A portion of the proceeds are donated to philanthropic causes supported by Jim Irsay during his lifetime.
Find out more here: https://www.christies.com/en
The Black Strat officially holds the record for the most expensive guitar ever sold. The money is going towards charity.
