Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Fender Stratocaster—one of the most recognizable Strats in the world—will be offered at auction this fall.
The iconic guitar, which has a price estimate of £700,000 to £1 million (US$909,084 to US$1.3 million), will lead a sale of the late blues rocker’s collection of guitars, amps, and accessories at Bonhams in London on Oct. 17.
Fender began working on a new electric guitar in the early 1950s to succeed its Telecaster and compete with more upscale competitors, like Gibson’s Les Paul, which was introduced in 1952. The Stratocaster was officially introduced in spring 1954, and though it wasn’t instantly popular, it is now one of the most famous instruments in the world.
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Gallagher, who founded the Irish blues rock band Taste, bought the Strat for £100 on credit from the owner of Crowley’s Music Store in Cork, Ireland, in 1963, according to the auction house.
“It was an enormous part of Rory Gallagher’s life and was with him from the very start of his career right until the end,” Claire Tole-Moir, head of Bonhams’ popular culture department, said in a statement. “It could be said that it was on this guitar that he carved out his legacy of being one of the greatest guitarists of all time.”
The guitar has been in the hands of Gallagher’s brother and former manager, Dónal, since his passing in 1995 at the age of 47. Since 2004, Fender has sold replicas of Gallager’s Strat as part of their artist signature series.
“After nearly 30 years since my brother Rory’s passing, I now believe it’s time for other people to cherish Rory’s ‘orphaned’ 1961 Fender Stratocaster and the rest of his incredible instrument collection,” Dónal Gallagher said in a statement.
Despite its extreme popularity, the most expensive electric guitar ever sold is actually a different Fender model—Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Fender Mustang sold in 2022 for US$4.68 million. The priciest guitar ever sold, however, was Cobain’s Martin D-18E acoustic, which sold for US$6 million in 2020.
In all, the auction will feature 150 items of Gallagher’s, and three of his other guitars will be on preview in New York, from July 22-28, and in Los Angeles, from Aug. 2-9.
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