Iconic musician Jeff Beck’s guitars and other memorabilia are up for auction at Christie’s in London. The collection spans nearly 60 years of the rock star’s career and includes over 130 guitars, amps, and other “tools of the trade.”
The Grammy-award-winning rock star has played the likes of Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger, and Rod Stewart. Hence, his guitar has seen the glory days of rock and roll. First on the list is his famous 1954 “Oxblood” Gibson Les Paul, which he purchased in November 1972 in Memphis and strummed at the Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars’ farewell show alongside David Bowie and Mick Ronson at the Hammersmith Odeon on July 3, 1973. The axe also graced the cover of his 1975 Blow by Blow solo instrumental album and expected to fetch between £350,000 and £500,000 (about $431,000 and $616,000).
Another guitar hitting the hammer is the Seymour Duncan-designed hybrid “Tele-Gib” comprised of a Fender Telecaster body and neck, and a pair of Gibson PAF pickups. Jeff Beck played the instrument on the Stevie Wonder track “We’ve Ended As Lovers” on Blow by Blow and during a live performance alongside Eric Clapton in 1981 (estimated to get from £100,000 to £150,000 ($123,000 to $185,000).
Meanwhile, a circa 1958 Gibson Les Paul could fetch around £40,000 to £60,000 ($50,000 to $74,000). Jeff Beck used the guitar to record “Over Under Sideways Down” and “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” on the Yardbirds’ Roger The Engineer album.
Another of Jeff Beck’s guitars heading to auction is a 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, estimated to fetch around $62,000 to $99,000. Then there’s also a Tina Turner–signed pink Jackson Soloist for $9,900 to $14,800 and his longest-serving white Stratocaster, dubbed “Anoushka,” expected to earn from $24,600 to $37,000.
Check It Out
Images courtesy of Christie’s
