Julien’s Auctions has announced the headliners of Icons & Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll, the world-record breaking auction house to the stars’ annual music blockbuster on Friday, November 11, Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13, live in Hard Rock Cafe New York and online at juliensauctions.com.
Over 1,500 spectacular instruments, artifacts and memorabilia owned and used by some of the world’s greatest music artists and legends including Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Prince, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steve Jobs, Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Eddie Van Halen, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Madonna, The Cure, LL Cool J, Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, David Gilmour, Gene Simmons, Meat Loaf, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Nikki Sixx, Daft Punk and more will be offered.
Burning up the auction stage will be a 1973 Fender Mustang owned, stage-played, smashed and signed by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain during two U.S. performances in 1989 - the first at Club Dreamerz in Chicago, Illinois on July 8th, and the second at the Sonic Temple in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania on July 9th - where Cobain smashed the guitar to pieces across the stage during the finale performance of “Blew.” Following the release of Nirvana’s 1989 debut album Bleach, the band embarked on their first U.S. tour where they played small venues across the south and mid-west. According to the 2004 book Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects by Kurt St. Thomas: “Nirvana was having so much fun on the tour that Kurt began to express his joy by smashing a new guitar at every show;” the ritual would solidify Cobain’s infamous smashed guitars as a part of the rock rebel’s lore.
Due to having smashed his sunburst Univox electric guitar two nights earlier (which Julien’s Auctions later sold in 2016) Cobain did not have a guitar that evening and was only able to perform the vocals. Following that performance, the band stayed at Sluggo Cawley of the band Hullabaloo’s apartment, where Cobain noticed a smashed Gibson SG hanging on Cawley’s wall. Cobain offered to trade it for the Fender Mustang he had smashed on July 9th because he thought he could repair the Gibson SG well enough to smash it again later on. Sluggo agreed to the trade and had Cobain inscribe the Mustang, signing as Nirvana and additionally drawing two flowers along the upper right portion of the pickguard before the band moved on to their next show. Along the lower portion of the body, the inscription reads, “Yo Sluggo / Thank for the trade/ If its illegal to Rock and Roll, then throw my ass in jail/ Nirvana.” This rare and sensational artifact emblematic of the grunge icon’s early years–his go to and favorite guitar the Fender Mustang played on Nirvana’s first road tour that was smashed and signed by the future rock and roll icon–makes this one of the quintessential and important Kurt Cobain guitars in rock history. It was previously exhibited at Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington (now named MoPOP Museum of Pop Culture) between 2007 and 2008 is estimated at $200,000 - $400,000 .
A limited-edition 2015 Moog EMMS synthesizer commemorating the original early 1970s version used by Keith Emerson of the legendary progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer ($100,000 - $200,000). This is only two of the three existing Moog units signed by Emerson, next to the band’s ELP logo and skull art which was designed by H.R. Giger (noted designer of Xenomorph creature from the film Alien) and featured on the cover of the 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery. Includes keyboard, ribbon controller, cables as well as a Moog brand bomber jacket and a T-shirt signed by Keith Emerson.
Other exceptional highlights include (with estimates):
- Dave Grohl’s stage played Zildjian 18-inch K brand Dark Crash cymbal signed by all three Nirvana members, Grohl, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, played during the first listening party for the Nevermind album at Beehive Records in Seattle, Washington on September 16, 1991 ($40,000 - $50,000)
- Heart’s Nancy Wilson’s stage-played Gibson Les Paul Epiphone guitar with a Bigsby bridge used as a backup to perform their classic “Barracuda” in concert ($5,000 - $7,000)
- a one-of-a-kind black and yellow Charvel EVH art series guitar that was signed and played by Eddie Van Halen during a concert in Reno, Nevada on April 17, 2008 ($40,000 - $60,000)
- a custom S.D. Curlee electric bass, made for Alec John Such of Bon Jovi, signed by Such and seen being played by Such during Bon Jovi’s 1993 guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on stage during various concert performances from the 1993 Keep the Faith world tour ($4,000 - $6,000)
- a metallic maroon and rosewood Schecter Nicki Sixx bass guitar signed and inscribed “Chris / Kickstart my heart / Nikki Sixx / Aug-10-2014” ($5,000 - $7,000)
- a Remo brand customized Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusions logo drumhead signed by Matt Sorum in 2013 ($2,000 - $3,000)
- a pink EB3-style electric bass guitar signed by AC/DC band members including Phil Rudd, Bon Scott, Cliff Williams, Angus Young, and Malcolm Young ($6,000-$8,000)
- a black Punisher bass guitar signed by KISS frontman Gene Simmons with an inscription that reads “My stage played / bass guitar / Mansfield MA 8-18-21 / Gene Simmons” ($10,000 - $20,000)
- a vintage Slingerland drum kit with a hand-painted “Bat Out of Hell” themed bass drum skin, played by Jeff Stefko, former drummer for Meat Loaf, and signed by Stefko ($10,000 - $20,000)
- a hollow-body Taylor T5 Spruce top, semi-acoustic guitar in cherry sunburst, hand signed by, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, in his West London studio in 2006 ($20,000 - $30,000)
“Each year, Julien’s Auctions is honored to assemble our exceptional Icons & Idols event that represents the rich legacy and chronicle of Rock N’ Roll music,” said Darren Julien, President/Chief Executive Officer of Julien’s Auctions. “Thousands of pieces that were front row and center of rock music’s most pivotal and shimmering moments from the titanic careers of Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Prince and more will be offered as well as new and rare iconography from the likes of Tupac Shakur, truly making this the auction industry’s marquee music auction event of the season.”
