Recently, The Edge of U2 and producer Bob Ezrin coordinated a charity event, which raised over $2 million and featured the sale of guitars played by Rush, Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Lzzy Hale, and Slash.
Over the weekend, Van Eaton Galleries’ massive Guitar Icons charity auction came to a close, generating more than $2 million for the Music Rising charity owing to some record-breaking sales.
A Yamaha BB-1200 used by Paul McCartney and dubbed as the “Wings” bass guitar, which he also used on tour and in the studio, fetched $496,100 during the event.
It was the night’s first record-breaking bid, surpassing Bill Wyman’s 1969 Fender Mustang bass, which went for $384,000 in 2020, to become the most expensive bass ever sold at auction.
Eddie Vedder’s concert-smashed Lake Placid Blue Fender Telecaster, which sold for $266,200 and shattered the record for the most expensive smashed six-string, joined McCartney’s bass in the record book.
Van Eaton Galleries’ inventory included a number of other instruments, including guitars from the Edge’s personal collection as well. His “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” Custom Strat brought $496,100 and his Music Rising ONE guitar earned $184,525 at the auction.
Bono and Adam Clayton, the Edge’s U2 bandmates, had both given guitars to the cause, a tour-used Gibson ES-175 and a Fender Precision Bass, which sold for $266,200 and $78,650, respectively.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin’s custom-painted Fender Telecaster Deluxe, which went for $81,070, and Noel Gallagher’s $51,425 Nash Telemaster are two more non-U2 highlights.
A Bruce Springsteen-signed ’50s Fender Telecaster brought in $72,600 for one bidder, while Lou Reed’s “Goldie” Danny Gatton Fender Telecaster and Lenny Kravitz’s Gibson Custom Shop Flying V each took in $72,600 and $42,350, respectively.
The Edge said about the event that “We want to thank everyone involved in this magnificent auction, including the artists who generously gave their personal instruments and the bidders from all over the world who helped us break world records,”
“The money raised by Music Rising will help bring live music back to a portion of the country whose musical tradition has had a global impact,” he concluded. “We owe a debt of appreciation to all of Music Rising’s supporters, who have given us the opportunity to return to our roots and help musicians in need,” says the group.
“The money from this auction will go toward assisting musicians in the region who have been financially impacted by the pandemic.”
