Kurt Cobain is undoubtedly one of the all-time legends of music. More than 26 years since his untimely death in 1994, the former frontman of iconic indie-rock band Nirvana continues to grab the headlines.
At an auction held over the weekend, one of his guitars was sold for the princely sum of $6,010,000 (THB 185 million) to Australian businessman Peter Freedman, owner of Rode Microphones.
The bidding for this guitar, which was used in Cobain’s 1993 MTV performance, began at $1 million (THB 30.8 million). This sale set a new world record, with the previous record sale being for $4 million (THB 123.3 million) last year for a Fender Stratocaster guitar used by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour.
Nirvana’s acoustic set for “MTV Unplugged in New York” on November 18, 1993 is now considered to be one of the greatest live performances in the history of music.
The guitar in question is a retro acoustic-electric 1959 Martin D-18E used by Cobain five months before he took his own life in April of 1994. The auctioneers disclosed in a statement that the guitar was customized by the rock star, who added a Bartolini pickup to the soundhole.
The exceptionally well-maintained guitar was sold with the hard-shell case, which Kurt Cobain had spruced up with a poster from the band Poison Idea’s 1990 album “Feel the Darkness.”
Australian businessman and owner of Rode Microphones, Peter Freedman, placed the highest bid. Freedman is now set to take the guitar on a worldwide tour and has pledged to donate the proceeds of it towards supporting musical artists.
He described his extravagant purchase of the guitar as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, according to Julien’s of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, the auction house given the task of finding a new owner for the instrument.
Nirvana became a household name after the release of their second album “Nevermind.” The album, which was launched in September 1991, sold over a million copies in the U.S. by the year-end. In 1992, the album reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
In 1994, the band’s “MTV Unplugged in New York” also quickly reached the No.1 slot, soon after it was released.
