David Gilmour performing onstage with a Fender Stratocaster in Hyde Park in July 1970. © Tony Collins
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour will be auctioning off more than 120 of his guitars for charity. If you have the funds, the auction will take place in Christie’s in New York in June this year. And it includes some of his most iconic guitars.
Guitars which Gilmour not only used in his live performances over the years, but that he also used in the recording of classic Pink Floyd albums like Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. One of them, which has featured on all these albums, will be his legendary 1969 Black Fender Stratocaster which Christie’s notes “has earned its place in rock’n’roll history.”
David Gilmour with 'The Black Strat' during the recording session for 'Have a Cigar' from 'Wish You Were Here', taken in Studio 3 of Abbey Road Studios. © Jill Furmanovsky
‘The Black Strat’ has played many of the band’s iconic guitar solos, from songs like “Money”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”. In fact, Gilmour says that in one way or another it’s probably featured on most Pink Floyd tracks from 1970 through to the mid-1980s.
The estimate for ‘The Black Strat’ will be between $100,000-150,000 Christie’s notes. And, along with this, other guitars will be Fender Broadcasters, Esquires, Telecasters and Stratocasters.
David Gilmour taking a quiet moment backstage with his legendary 'Black Strat', during the 'Dark Side of the Moon' tour in 1974. © Jill Furmanovsky
“These guitars have been very good to me,” Gilmour told Rolling Stone. “They’re my friends. They have given me lots of music. I just think it’s time that they went off and served someone else. I have had my time with them. And of course the money that they will raise will do an enormous amount of good in the world, and that is my intention.”
The money from the sales will be going to Gilmour’s own charitable foundation which he says will help the, “larger needs of famine relief, homelessness and displacement of people throughout the world.”
You might think that, with Gilmour selling so many of his collection, he might have lost his mind. But, he notes that it’s a matter of “cleaning house” and he’s been planning to sell many of them since 1987, he just hasn’t gotten around to it.
David Gilmour performing with 'The Black Strat' on 1974's 'Dark Side Of The Moon' tour. © Jill Furmanovsky
To coincide with the announcement Gilmour also made a video for Christie’s, discussing the collection. He talks about the aforementioned ‘The Black Strat’ and also a 1954 White Fender Stratocaster #0001. He got this in 1978 and used it to record “Another Brick in the Wall (Parts 2 and 3).” His dream as a young musician was always to have a Fender Stratocaster, he says. “Buddy Holly played one. Hank Marvin played one. And that was enough for me. I just wanted a Strat.”
Along with his electric guitars, there will also be several acoustic guitars up for auction too, reflecting the influence musicians like Bob Dylan and The Everly Brothers had on him. These include a 1969 D-35 Martin bought in New York in 1971, which was used as Pink Floyd’s main studio acoustic, and a Gibson J-200 Celebrity he got in 1985 from Dire Straits’ John Illsley, among others.
David Gilmour with his beloved 'Black Strat' performing on his third night at the Royal Albert Hall as part of his 'Rattle That Lock' 2015 Tour. © Paolo Brillo
The auction will take place at Christie's in New York on 20 June. Before then the collection will be on show at Christie’s in London on 27-31 March, in Los Angeles on 7-11 May and in New York on 14-19 June.
“Many of the guitars in this sale are guitars that have given me a tune,” Gilmour says in the video. “So a lot of them have earned their keep, you might say. These guitars have given so much to me, and it’s time for them to move on to other people who hopefully will find joy, and perhaps create something new.”
Find out more about David Gilmour’s collection at Christie’s website and watch the video they made about the instruments below.
Rockarchive is delighted to be able to offer these and many more iconic Pink Floyd and David Gilmour images as limited edition photographic prints which you can buy here.
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David Gilmour taking a quiet moment backstage, during the Dark Side of the Moon tour 1974.
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Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters & Richard Wright on their first ever photo shoot in Ruskin Park, London
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