Johnny Marr is preparing to auction off about 80 of his guitars, including the Rickenbacker heard on This Charming Man.<\/p>\n
Marr has partnered with Christie\u2019s for the auction, which will take place on 17 September in London, with the collection \u2013 including amps and other equipment \u2013 available for the public to view in London and New York prior to the sale.<\/p>\n
The star lots include a 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo, whose top estimate price of \u00a380,000 reflects its indie music pedigree: as well as This Charming Man, it can be heard on What Difference Does It Make?, Still Ill, and Accept Yourself, and was also lent out to Noel Gallagher: it appears on the cover of Oasis\u2019s debut single Supersonic. (It wasn\u2019t used for the distinctive opening riff of This Charming Man, though, which was played on a 1950s Telecaster.)<\/p>\n
The acoustic guitar heard on timeless Smiths ballad There Is a Light That Never Goes Out is also up for sale: a 1971 Martin D-28 (estimate: \u00a330,000-50,000), which can also be heard on Cemetry Gates.<\/p>\n
The highest top estimate price is \u00a3150,000, for a 1960 Cherry Red Gibson ES-355, bought for Marr by music industry legend Seymour Stein. Marr had joked to Stein that the Smiths would sign to Stein\u2019s Sire Records if Marr was given a new guitar and Stein duly followed through. It became a signature guitar for Marr, who played it on Top of the Pops.<\/p>\n
Johnny Marr’s 1960 Gibson ES-355 Cherry Red, up for auction at Christie’s. Photograph: Christie’s<\/p>\n
Another guitar seen on Top of the Pops, from their May 1984 performance of Heaven Knows I\u2019m Miserable Now, is a Telecaster-style instrument created by British luthier Roger Giffin \u2013 it has a top estimate of \u00a330,000.<\/p>\n
A 1984 Gibson Les Paul Standard became one of Marr\u2019s go-to instruments over the years: not only was it the guitar he played on the final song of the final Smiths\u2019 live performance in December 1986, it has cropped up again in Marr\u2019s journeyman post-Smiths career, on songs by Noel Gallagher\u2019s High Flying Birds, the The, the Cribs and Gorillaz\u2019s latest album, plus New Order\u2019s hit Regret after Bernard Sumner briefly borrowed it.<\/p>\n
A \u201cComet Sparkle\u201d edition of his own signature Fender Jaguar, played by Marr on the score for James Bond film No Time to Die, is also up for sale.<\/p>\n
Proceeds from 10 of the lots will be given in full to two charities: the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the National Autistic Society.<\/p>\n