Backstage Auctions has launched a new collection of historical musical items, which includes gear used by Eddie Van Halen, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and more – and it's expected to fetch a cumulative figure of up to $1.5 million.
The auction is already live and taking bids, with storied and oddball pieces – many from the collection of the late Small Faces founder, Ian McLagan – making up the lots.
It includes the Don Musser acoustic guitar that Eddie Van Halen reportedly used on two 1990s Van Halen albums, Balance and Van Halen III. It can be heard on the likes of Take Me Back, Without You, and Neworld.
According to a 1995 Guitar World interview, EVH had bought the acoustic from Norman's Rare Guitars, and it was regularly put to work at 5150 Studios.
Also featured is Eric Clapton's stage-played 1974 Fender Strat, which Ronnie Lane also played after it was gifted to the Small Faces/Faces guitarist circa 1977.
See also Keith Richards' 2005 semi-hollow Duesenberg Starplayer Outlaw electric guitar, which sports a unique mosaic-mimicking finish described as a “custom pearl finish.” It was a birthday gift from Richards to McLagan, and it features chrome skull knobs to really tap into the Outlaw vibe.
There's also a movie star up for grabs... sort of. When Elvis Presley was filming Viva Las Vegas, he fell into a pool with a guitar, and when it was discovered to be water-damaged, a Gibson acoustic was drafted in for the remainder of the scenes. Yes, that back-up guitar is up for auction.
McLagan's 1965 Telecaster, customized with a Strat neck and featuring a “custom-painted psychedelic pickguard,” is also of note. Bought for his first show with the Small Faces, it was later used by Steve Marriott to record Tin Soldier and All or Nothing.
It was originally Cream, but that finish was stripped off to reveal a natural look in 1969. That same year, Peter Frampton hand-carved its neck pickup hole to accommodate a Gibson humbucker salvaged from the SG that Townshend had been brutally smashed to pieces during a show at the Marquee Club.
Consequently, Backstage Auctions has dubbed it “a singular piece of rock and roll history.”
Bidding is now open. See Backstage Auctions for more.
