Pink Floyd's David Gilmour Is Auctioning 120 of His Iconic Guitars for Charity in New York
Ever wanted to own a piece of rock history? Well, now’s your chance.
Christie’s auction house has announced that legendary Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour is selling 120 of his guitars in New York on June 20.
The David Gilmour Guitar Collection will include the 1969 Fender Black Strat used by Gilmour on classic Pink Floyd albums Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979).
Also included are the 12-string Stratocaster Gilmour used to write the iconic song “Wish You Were Here,” an Ovation six-string used for live performances of “Comfortably Numb,” and a white and gold 1954 Stratocaster — serial number is 0001 — used on the recording of “Another Brick in the Wall.”
“I never quite meant to become a collector of guitars but that’s the way its sort of panned out,” Gilmour, 72, says in a Christie’s promo video. “You pick up a guitar that you haven’t played before and somehow is sets off some little inspiration in you — it kind of gifts you a tune. Many of the guitars in this sale are guitars that have given me a tune, so a lot of them have earned their keep.”
Over 120 #guitars from @_DavidGilmour’s personal collection come to auction – including the 'Black Strat' that played on @pinkfloyd's ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’: https://t.co/bR0JrLSp9C. #GilmourGuitars pic.twitter.com/YIo5rLwe3E
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) January 29, 2019
Gilmour is selling the guitars in the hope that their new owners will “find joy,” while also raising funds for his charitable foundation. Plus, even after the auction, Gilmour will still have 20 guitars to play whenever he wishes.
“The money that this sale hopefully will raise is going to go into my charitable foundation and will be used to help do some good in this world,” Gilmour adds. “If we can do our little bit to help with those larger global issues, I’ll be a happier person.”
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Should you not lucky enough to purchase one of Gilmour’s collection, then you can still experience the sale. Pre-auction displays are taking place in London on March 27–31, followed by Los Angeles on May 7–11 and the New York sale preview on June 14–19.
That’s unless there’s a dramatic repeat of Gilmour’s first trip to the States in 1968.
“TWA, who were transporting my gear, lost my Fender Telecaster that my parents had given me on my 21st birthday, never to be seen or found again,” reveals Gilmour. “So I had to go out to buy a guitar. Manny’s was already legendary, so I went to Manny’s on 48th Street. I was like a kid in a sweet shop.”
