Andy Summers recalled how Eric Clapton "begged" The Police guitarist to sell him his 1959 Les Paul, arguing that the iconic ax now costs about £2 million.
At the time Summers was making a name for himself as an exceptional session player in the London scene, Eric Clapton was "helping American blues surface in the UK" and was "very purist about it", the Police legend tells Rick Beato in a recent interview.
To make matters even more interesting, both guitar icons ended up playing Les Paul Sunbursts, after Clapton saw the instrument Summers was playing and wanted to get one for himself according to Ultimate Guitar.
"I liked it more than the Les Paul for some reason. I don’t know, pickup set up, whatever. And he knew I had that as well. I put it under the bed. It was in a case, under the bed.'
"But, he kept calling me. 'I don't want to sell it. I don't want to sell it.' But I felt a little bit weird about it because it seemed like the back pickup didn't work. Because none of us knew shit about electronics. A guy could have just fixed it; one tweak and it was fine."
"I kept resisting it. But finally, he called me so many times that I actually agreed to sell it with some, you know, forgiving. I didn't feel great about it, but he just really wanted it. So, we agreed on a price."
"I charged him 200 pounds for it. It's worth about two million now.
On November 2023 the 1964 Gibson SG electric guitar sold for 1,270,000 dollars (£1,023,000) to The Jim Irsay Collection after headlining the Worn And Torn: Rock N Roll Iconic Guitars And Memorabilia auction
Clapton's guitar, known as 'The Fool', was given to him by George Harrison and is famous for its unique sound. Cobain's guitar, called the 'SkyStang I', was used during his final performance.
Clapton's 'The Fool', a psychedelic painted guitar, was known for its unique sound. The Beatles' George Harrison gave it to Clapton after his guitar was stolen.
"It was the guitar he used to create the very famous woman tone that guitar players today try and recreate 50 years since," said Martin Nolan, founder of Julien's Auctions.
With hits such as 'Bell Bottom Blues,' 'Cocaine' and 'Layla,' Clapton has won 18 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
The auction also saw other items from British stars go under the hammer, including a blue and white blazer worn by Sir Elton John in the music video for his 1984 single Passengers which sold for 5,200 dollars (£4,192).
An original 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray that was personally owned and driven by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash also sold for 227,500 dollars (£183,374).
This is a rare video (below) of Clapton using a Gibson – he mainly uses Strats on tour. Here he even turns up the gain a bit for some fuzzed-out noodling. "It became part of my body – it was just part of my existence," he says of the Les Paul, which he played in the Sixties.
Eric Clapton built his reputation as a guitarist playing Gibson electric guitars. He played them almost exclusively between June 1965 up until about 1970.Eric Clapton purchased his first Gibson guitar in 1964. It was a 1964 Cherry Red Gibson ES-335 (a.k.a the Cream Guitar) which he would use for the next forty years. He sold it at auction in June 2004.In June 1965, Clapton bought a second-hand, Cherry Sunburst 1960 Gibson Les Paul.
The other guitar, also estimated between $1 million and $2 million, is Kurt Cobain's guitar, the 'SkyStang I', which Cobain played during his final public performance on Nirvana's "In Utero" concert tour.
The guitar played by Kurt Cobain at Nirvana’s last performance is estimated to fetch between one million to two million US dollars (£820,000 to £1.64 million) at auction.
Julien’s Auctions has announced a line-up of rock ‘n’ roll items to mark its 20-year anniversary, including Eric Clapton’s guitar The Fool and Cobain’s SkyStang I.
Cobain’s blue Fender Mustang electric guitar was used during Nirvana’s 1993 to 1994 tour dates, up to the band’s final performance with Cobain at Terminal Einz in Munich in March 1994, which took place just over a month before the singer’s death.
Rock N Roll Iconic Guitars And Memorabilia will launch with a special evening session on Thursday November 16 and traditional sessions on Friday November 17 and Saturday November 18 at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville, with some of the proceeds going to mental health initiative Kicking The Stigma.
Before the auction, an exhibition tour will travel to London, taking place from October 17 to October 22 at Hard Rock Cafe, Piccadilly Circus.
Eric Clapton and Roger Taylor are also set to Perform on Dec 4 at Gary Brooker Tribute Show.
A star-studded tribute to Procol Harum’s late singer and pianist Gary Brooker will take place on Dec. 4, featuring performances by Eric Clapton, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Genesis’ Mike Rutherford and more.
