Kurt Cobain with his legendary black Stratocaster
Photo: FilmMagic, Inc, Jeff Kravitz. All rights reserved.
Kurt Cobain’s damaged guitar has fetched nearly $600,000 at an auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City. The instrument is the legendary black Fender Stratocaster, which the Nirvana frontman “broke” in 1991, around the same time that their second studio album “Nevermind” was released. Cobain was known for his brutal stage performances, which often ended in destructive freaks.
Music Icons auction at the Hard Rock Cafe
The auction on Saturday, May 20th was organized by the Californian auction house Julien’s Auctions, which specializes primarily in the sale of contemporary art and pop culture. Under the motto “Music Icons”, “Julien’s Auctions”, in cooperation with the Hard Rock Café New York, held an auction last weekend with over 1,200 artefacts by world-famous artists from the international music scene. It has included rare items belonging to rock ‘n’ roll legend Jimi Hendrix, such as handwritten song lyrics, never-before-seen pieces from the renowned Rolling Stones archive or Freddie Mercury’s New York Yankees bomber jacket, worn on stage during a concert in 1977 at Madison Square Garden.
“Hell-o Mark. Love, your pal Kurdt Kobain. washed up rock star
With the sale of the Cobain guitar, however, all expectations were exceeded. This reached a good ten times the originally expected value. This was between 60,000 and 80,000 US dollars. The Stratocaster went under the hammer for $596,900. The rocked-down instrument bears the signatures of all three band members – Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. Also on the guitar is a short note from Cobain, written for his friend and colleague Mark Lanegan: “Hell-o Mark. Love, your pal Kurdt Kobain [sic!]. Washed up Rock Star”.
From gift to collector’s item
Cobain reportedly gave him his Strat during Nevermind’s North American tour in 1992, after smashing it onstage in typical rock star fashion. Although the instrument was given a general overhaul for the auction, it remains unplayable due to the damage. The auction house has not yet revealed the identity of the buyer. But the saying should certainly apply to him: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.