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Legendary guitars, iconic glasses and handwritten lyrics from some of the biggest names in music are going under the hammer at a London auction this week.
Taking centre stage is Noel Gallagher’s cherry-red Gibson guitar, damaged by his brother Liam during a backstage brawl the night Oasis broke up atthe height of their fame in 2009.
Reflecting on the row, Noel later told reporters in 2011 that a furious Liam had stormed into the dressing room with the guitar, which he was “wielding like an axe”.
“It’s historic. If you’re an Oasis fan, you look at that guitar and you immediately know what it is,” music specialist Mark Hochman told AFP at memorabilia specialist Propstore’s auction preview.
“It caused the break-up of the band. Liam smashed it. Noel got in a taxi, and that was it for 16 years,” he added.
In 2022, the repaired Gibson was sold for €385,000 ($896,769) at an auction in Paris.
But with the British supergroup now in the middle of a record-breaking comeback tour, the instrument is currently expected to fetch up to £500,000 ($1.16m).
Noel’s Takamine acoustic guitar, used to record the hit song Wonderwall, will also go on the auction block during the sale on Thursday and Friday.
“If you ask anybody, name me an Oasis song... they’re going to say Wonderwall... I think it was the first song from the 90s to reach a billion streams,” said music specialist Richie Moores, who has been collecting Noel’s guitars for 20 years.
The guitars are part of the largest collection of Oasis memorabilia ever to come to auction, worth over £1m.
With interest in them “growing and growing and growing”, Hochman believes Oasis will become “one of the most collectable bands” in the long term.
Memories of first albums
From the wider sale, a pair of spectacles worn by John Lennon during his infamous “Lost Weekend” period over 18 months in Los Angeles in the early 1970s is expected to sell for as much as £300,000 ($698,562).
The circular, orange-tinted glasses are one of the most recognisable personal items ever owned by the Beatles star.
John Lennon's tinted prescription "Lost Weekend" glasses are estimated to sell for $698,562. Photo / Justin Tallis, AFP
“These particular glasses are the most historic and provenanced of any John Lennon glasses to come to market, and that’s what makes them so valuable,” said Hochman.
Michael Jackson’s white fedora from the 1988 Smooth Criminal video is also up for auction, valued between £40,000 and £80,000.
Collectors will be able to snap up Elvis Presley’s classic “Grand Prix” sunglasses, a signature accessory that became synonymous with the king’s later career.
Memorabilia from David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and other music legends will also be on offer, with the auction estimated to have a combined value of more than £3m.
“We all remember the first groups we saw... I think we all remember the first records we bought,” Hochman said. “It takes you back to a happier time, and I think people need that.”
