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| McCartney's signed 10ft Guitar Sells For £60, 000 at Auction The Gibson Guitartown London Charity Auction took place last night 20th November at a special charity auction event held at The O2's IndigO2 club. A 10ft tall hand-painted Gibson Les Paul replica guitar signed by Sir Paul McCartney became the star attraction of the night. After a competitive bidding war the giant guitar was eventually auctioned off for an amazing £60, 000. Gibson Guitartown London is a charity-inspired campaign, bringing the power of music together with art to raise money for Nordoff–Robbins Music Therapy, The Prince's Trust and Teenage Cancer Trust. Over £200, 000 was raised from the sale of the 62 hand painted and signed Gibson guitars which will be split equally between the three charities. Simon Davies, Chief Executive of Teenage Cancer Trust said "Were delighted to be associated with such a fantastic event. Our sincere thanks go to Gibson Guitars for all their support and hard work - funds raised will make a real difference to the lives of teenagers with cancer across the country." "We are thrilled at Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy with the end result of the auction and our sincere thanks go out to all involved and everyone who bid on the night" Said Nicky Weller Fundraising Manger – Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. Caroline Wright of The Princes Trust said "We are delighted with the outcome of the Gibson Guitartown London Charity Auction. The thousands raised will help to change the lives of young people in this country who need our help most." Photo credit: Dean Farnell The auction was hosted by rock 'n' roll memorabilia auction house, Julien's Auctions. Before the auction Darren Julien, president of the auction house, said, "With confidence falling in the housing market, we've seen a huge upturn in interest in rock 'n' roll memorabilia. We've virtually doubled our database of customers from what it was a year ago. Last month, a similar auction we held in Texas saw two guitars going for $55, 000 each. Now is definitely the time to start collecting." After the auction he went on to add, "We are delighted that so much was raised for these three worthy causes and are grateful that Julien's could be a part of such an amazingly organized event by Gibson U.K. The excitement in the room was fuelled by the adrenaline of hundreds of active bidders around the world all vying for their chance to own a one of a kind Gibson custom guitar." Paul McCartney said, "I'm really amazed and very happy that the guitar went for so much and for such a great cause." Paul's guitar beat the second highest bid of the night by an incredible £49, 000. Ronnie Wood's guitar went for £11, 000, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters signed (The Wall themed guitar designed by Gerald Scarfe, designer responsible for The Wall artwork) went for £10, 500, Slash's Gibson SG guitar went for £8, 500 and Paul Weller's 10 foot Gibson Les Paul replica guitar (designed by Sir Peter Blake) reached £8, 000. The successful bidder will donate the Paul McCartney giant guitar to the Great Ormond Street Hospital at an event in December. Henry Juzkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitars paid tribute to the success of the evening by adding "I am delighted that the Gibson Guitartown London charity auction raised such an impressive amount of money for the three deserving charities. Gibson Guitartown London has been a resounding success on an international scale which saw many of the UK's greatest musicians and visual artists come together for charity. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the project." write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |