THE guitar that rock legend Jimi Hendrix famously “burnt” on stage has sold
for nearly a quarter of a million pounds.
A host of music memorabilia fans lined up to bid on the black Fender
Stratocaster that Hendrix tricked his fans into thinking he destroyed at the
Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967.
The moment he knelt down and poured lighter fluid onto the instrument before
taking a match to it has become one of the most iconic images in rock
history.
But the guitarist was said to have been so fond of he couldn’t bring himself
to destroy it – and switched it for a different guitar seconds before the
stunt.
The guitar was later given to his record company Anim Limited, where it fell
into the hands of James “Tappy” Wright, a manager at the firm.
Mr Wright, 69, from Newcastle, decided to sell it to help fund his retirement
in Florida.
It had been given a pre-sale estimate of £120,000 but was sold for a whopping
£237,000 when it went under the hammer last night.
Ted Owen, of the Fame Bureau auctioneers which sold the guitar, said: “I’m
thrilled with the price.
““It is a hugely important guitar and we had four people seriously bidding for
it, which pushed the price up.”
Hendrix had only been planning on smashing up a guitar at the end of his set
at the 1967 concert in California.
But having seen Pete Townshend of The Who shove the neck of his guitar into an
amplifier earlier on at the festival, he felt he had to go one better.
Mr Wright, who was also a roadie for The Animals, said: “The Who went on
before Hendrix and Townshend smashed his guitar up and put the neck into the
amp.
“Jimi was annoyed at this and asked for some lighter fuel. He just wanted to
outdo Pete Townshend.
“He played the black guitar for most of the act and then right at the end he
swapped it for a repaired one that he set fire to.
“At the time the black Fender was his favourite guitar and he didn’t want to
ruin it.”
Mr Owen added: “Hendrix only burnt two guitars in his career; the one at the
Astoria and the one at Monterey.
“He used the black Fender for three quarters of the concert and he swapped it
at the last minute.
“People who were there would have known of the swap and Hendrix fans may well
be aware but it is not widely known.”
Hendrix died in London in 1970 at the age of 27 from drug-related asphyxia.