Eric Clapton’s guitar given to his Welsh friend goes up for auction

A guitar given to Welsh singer Dave Edmunds by Eric Clapton is expected to sell for up to £ 363,000 ($ 500,000) when it goes up for auction.

The guitarist, nicknamed God by fans, gifted it to Cardiff-born Edmunds when he visited the Cream legend at his Surrey home in 1976.

The instrument, a 1968 Martin D-45 acoustic, was played by Clapton at Derek and Dominos’ first concert.

This took place at the Lyceum Theater, London, on June 14, 1970.

The sale includes a signed letter from Edmunds revealing that Clapton intended to give him a Gibson J-200, but chose Martin when the J-200 could not be found.

Los Angeles auction house Julien’s stated on its website: “Clapton can be seen in numerous photos backstage at the Lyceum playing this guitar in preparation for the first live performance of his new band, Derek and the Dominos. a name chosen just moments before taking on that night with other musicians Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon and Dave Mason. “

The group recorded some of Clapton’s most famous songs, including Bell Bottom Blues and Layla.

Both were inspired by Clapton’s unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, wife of Beatles friend and guitarist George Harrison.

Julien’s said: “Clapton can also be seen on guitar touring with his former group Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, performing the song Poor Elijah – Tribute to Johnson live on BBC television, and in between concerts. while he is traveling “.

In June 2020, the auction house sold a guitar played by Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain for $ 6 million (£ 4.9 million).

Martin Nolan, who will handle the bidding at the auction house, said: “It’s not like you’re buying a signed CD. Something like this is truly iconic and people can identify with it.

“Something like this guitar, this is a really important guitar. It’s one of the first guitars with a lot of history.”

The tool will go under the hammer at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe on November 19-20.

A draft of handwritten texts for the 1970 hit Layla is also up for grabs, with an estimate of £ 22,000- £ 36,000 ($ 30,000- £ 50,000).

Also on sale will be around 1,000 things once owned and used by the Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.