Express & Star

Eddie Van Halen guitars sold at auction following rocker’s death

He died in October aged 65.

Published
Last updated
An Eddie Van Halen guitar

A customised electric guitar once belonging to revered rock star Eddie Van Halen has sold at auction for more than 230,000 dollars (about £173,000).

His Kramer instrument, featuring a red body with black and white stripes and inscribed with a personal message to a friend, went under the hammer in Beverly Hills.

It fetched 231,250 dollars at Julien’s Auctions’ Icons & Idols Trilogy: Rock ‘N Roll event. Van Halen died in October aged 65 following a battle with cancer.

A guitar once belonging to late rock star Eddie Van Halen has sold at auction (Julien’s Auctions/PA)

Another guitar belonging to him, a 2004 EVH Charvel Art Series electric instrument, sold for 140,800 dollars (£105,000).

And a scaled-down, non-playing version of a Van Halen guitar, used by a child actor playing a younger version of the rocker in the Hot For Teacher music video, went for 50,000 dollars (£37,000).

Van Halen’s guitars were the headline items at the auction, where memorabilia from stars including Kurt Cobain, Bob Marley, Little Richard, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson was also sold.

A black Fender Stratocaster guitar used by Cobain on Nirvana’s 1994 In Utero Tour sold for 128,000 dollars (£96,000) while a cream, signed Fender Stratocaster played on stage by the venerated rocker and smashed in Buenos Aires fetched 153,600 dollars (£115,000).

An Epiphone Paul McCartney Texan FT-79 acoustic guitar played and signed by the former Beatle sold for 54,400 dollars (£40,000), Pete Townshend’s 1936 Radiotone cello guitar fetched 41,600 dollars (£31,000) and a mid-1960s Hammond B-3 organ played by Gregg Allman, of The Allman Brothers Band, went for 102,400 dollars (£77,000).

Trousers worn by Iggy Pop on an album cover were sold at the auction in Beverly Hills (Julien’s Auctions/PA)

Some glittering wardrobe items from rock ‘n roll history also went under the hammer.

A white sparkling glove from King Of Pop Jackson’s 1984 Victory Tour sold for 76,800 dollars (£57,000).

A pair of metallic silver trousers with metal stud decorations worn by Iggy Pop on the cover of Iggy And The Stooges’ 1973 album Raw Power sold for 70,400 dollars (£53,000).

Presley’s black macrame zodiac belt sold for 46,875 dollars (£35,000) and his sterling silver ring with the letter “E” carved in it fetched 19,200 dollars (£14,000).

Other highlights included two passports owned and signed by rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Little Richard. His 1974 document sold for 19,200 dollars (£14,000) and his 1976 one for 25,600 dollars (£19,000).

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.