Kurt Cobain’s guitar sells for a whopping R71-million!
The lucky buyer says he is excited to “preserve and protect” Kurt's guitar.
An American billionaire is the proud new owner of an important piece of music history. Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL team Indianapolis Colts, just bought one of Kurt Cobain's guitars for $4.5-million (R71-million).
The guitar featured in Nirvana's music video, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. The 1991 single helped the rock band achieve worldwide success.
The left-handed 1969 Fender Mustang Kurt played in the song's music video was auctioned on Sunday.
"I am thrilled to preserve and protect another piece of American culture that changed the way we looked at world,” NME quoted Jim as saying.
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Kurt was a big fan of Fender Mustang guitars. The later singer-songwriter revealed why he loves the guitar when asked about his love for low-end guitars in an interview.
“I don’t favour them – I can afford them. [laughs]. I’m left-handed, and it’s not very easy to find reasonably priced, high-quality left-handed guitars. But out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favourite. I’ve only owned two of them," he told Guitar World.
Kurt died in April 1994 after taking his own life. He was 27.
A portion of the guitar's sale will be donated to Kicking the Stigma - an initiative that raises awareness about mental health issues.
One of Kurt's other guitars was also auctioned for a hefty price in 2020. His Martin D-18E was sold for $6-million.
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Main image credit: YouTube/ Nirvana