The guitar that Kurt Cobain played during Nirvana's iconic MTV Unplugged set is the most expensive ever sold at auction.
Last month, it was announced that the guitar Kurt Cobain played during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged set in 1993 would be going up for auction with a starting bid of $1million. Now, the instrument (plus a vintage hard-shell case, some guitar picks and a “partial” set of strings) has been sold for six times that amount: a record-breaking $6million.
The lucky owner is Aussie music entrepreneur Peter Freedman, who told the PA News agency that he was “scared shitless and shaking” when the auction came to an end as he secured the iconic instrument for the equivalent of $9m in Australian dollars.
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“It’s a big deal,” he said. “I didn’t even buy it for me. I paid for it but I’m going to use it to highlight the plight of artists worldwide by touring it around and then I’m going to sell it and use the dough for that as well, later.”
Peter added that he had his eyes on the guitar and was “going to get it” at all costs, admitting he “would have kept going” even if the bids were increasing up to $20-$30million.
Discussing the importance of the guitar, Julien’s Auctions CEO Darren Julien stated that it has “earned its rightful place in rock‘n’roll history as the instrument played by one of rock’s most influential musicians and icons in one of the greatest and most memorable live performances of all time.”
Late last year, the unwashed sweater that Kurt wore during Nirvana’s Unplugged performance sold for $334,000 at auction. Before that, a paper plate which the frontman ate pizza off of – and then wrote a Nirvana setlist on – went for over $22,000.
