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David Gilmour auction nets $21M, nets record for guitar sale

By Danielle Haynes
A collection of guitars are on display for sale from the personal guitar collection of the rock 'n' roll legend David Gilmour, the guitarist, singer and songwriter of Pink Floyd. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

June 21 (UPI) -- The auction of David Gilmour's guitar collection netted more than $21 million, which the legendary Pink Floyd guitarist is donating to efforts to battle climate change, Christie's announced.

The auction house said the 8-hour auction Thursday drew bidders from more than 66 countries. The collection of more than 120 guitars earned $21,490,750.

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A Fender black Stratocaster set a worldwide auction record for a guitar, earning $3.97 million, blowing past its $150,000 estimate. Gilmour used the so-called Black Strat on Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979).

"It became my main guitar, the one I used pretty much on everything unless there was a reason to want a different sound," Gilmour said of the guitar.

Gilmour said he was "blown away" by the results of the auction.

He's donating all the proceeds from the sale to ClientEarth, a charity that funds legal battles fighting climate change.

"This is a truly humbling and extraordinary gift, which goes beyond our wildest expectations," ClientEarth CEO James Thornton said. "It's difficult to express just how deeply grateful we are to David for choosing for choosing ClientEarth as the beneficiary of this historic auction.

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"This gift is a phenomenal boost to our work and will allow us to play an even greater role in addressing the climate crisis and securing a healthy planet for future generations."

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