Pink Floyd Guitar Becomes Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold
- Mar 31
- 2 min read
David Gilmour’s 1969 Fender Stratocaster, used on The Dark Side of the Moon, achieves a record $14.55 million at auction.
Most memorably, it produced some of the solos, riffs and rhythmic fills that helped make The Dark Side of the Moon one of the most highly regarded records of all time and one of the best-selling albums in history - with estimated worldwide sales of over 45 to 50 million copies. Released in 1973, it is renowned for its immense commercial longevity, spending over 970 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, and still continues to sell hundreds of thousands of copies annually.
Gilmour purchased the guitar in New York City in 1970, and it became his primary instrument by 1971. The black 1969 Fender Stratocaster, nicknamed the “Black Strat,” was Gilmour’s workhorse guitar. It was used on six of the band’s albums, and according to the New York Times, it completely obliterated the previous record for a guitar: Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E, which sold for $6.01 million in 2020.
It was also central to the band’s now-legendary show at an empty Pompeii amphitheater, which was recorded for the 1972 concert film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. The Black Strat was used on every Pink Floyd album from 1972 to 1983 and all four of Gilmour’s solo albums.
The guitar also exemplifies Gilmour’s proclivity to experiment with sound. He famously modified it many times, including changing its neck on six different occasions. New tuners, switches, pickguards and inputs were added to the guitar’s body over the years, according to Christie’s auction house.
The guitar was part of the extraordinary Jim Irsay Collection, and was amongst the many items that smashed Music Memorabilia Auction Records earlier this month.
