Sotheby’s is to launch its inaugural Popular Culture auction at the end of the month, featuring a Steinway piano from Abbey Road’s Studio 3, a guitar owned by Prince and two guitars used by Noel Gallagher on Oasis’s standout album Definitely Maybe.
The sale follows on from the success of the record-breaking ‘Freddie Mercury: A World of his Own’ auction series that took place last year.
The Steinway piano is estimated to between £150,000 – £200,000 and was purchased by Abbey Road Studios in 1973. There it remained until 2016, having been played by artists including Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Paul Weller and Radiohead.
‘Following the sale of the famous Abbey Road Mk IV recording console in 2017, a contemporary of this grand piano from Abbey Road, we have seen huge appetite for equipment from these famed studios,’ says Katherine Schofield, head of popular culture at Sotheby’s. ‘It’s fascinating to see how long this Steinway was used in Studio 3 and featured on recordings by a wide range of artists, such as Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse on some of their seminal albums.’
Prince’s semi-hollow Vox HDC-77 is also one of the featured lots, expecting to fetch between £200,000 – £300,000. Played extensively during his 3RDEYEGIRL era, the ‘blackburst’ guitar was on stage during his seminal Montreux Jazz Festival appearance on July 15, 2013.
August 29 is not only the start of the sale, but also the 30-year anniversary of the release of Definitely Maybe. The record became the fastest selling debut album in the UK and has sold more than 6 million copies since its release. The auction will see two guitars used by Noel Gallagher on the recording, an Epiphone Les Paul Standard (£60,000 – £80,000) and a Gibson Flying V, also owned by Johnny Marr of The Smith’s (£20,000 – £30,000). Also for sale is Noel’s stage-played Epiphone EA-250 (£20,000 – £30,000).
The sale will begin on August 29 and will be accompanied by a dedicated exhibition at Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries from Monday September 9. Other lots include items from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Bed-in For Peace’ protest, as well as artefacts from the Golden Age of Hollywood, as well as a gladiator costume for Ridley Scott’s upcoming Gladiator II.
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