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The Who/Pete Townshend
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The Who/Pete Townshend
Price Realized
(Set Currency)
  • £13,750
  • ($27,211)
  • Price includes buyer's premium
Estimate
    £10,000 - £15,000
  • ($19,720 - $29,580)

Sale Information

Sale 5397
Popular Culture: Rock & Pop Memorabilia
10 July 2008
London, South Kensington





Lot Description

The Who/Pete Townshend
A classical acoustic guitar, with rosewood fretboard and spruce top, 1960s, signed and inscribed on the body in black felt pen Pete Townshend, May 19, 2000 -- owned by Pete Townshend 1967-2000 and used by him to compose Behind Blue Eyes, released on the Who's Next album, 1971; accompanied by a document concerning the provenance signed by Townshend (2)

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Pre-Lot Text

The following lot is being sold on behalf of the Alliance For Sustainability. The mission of the Alliance is to bring about personal, organizational & planetary sustainability through support of projects that are ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and humane.

Provenance

Donated by Pete Townshend to an auction to benefit Oxfam, 2000.

Literature

http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equip-classacoust.htm

Lot Notes

This guitar can be seen in Pete Townshend's studio on Wardour Street, London in photographs taken in 1967 and on the wall of his home studio in Twickenham in photographs taken in 1970.

According to a letter written by Twonshend, I used this guitar to compose 'Behind Blue Eyes' and a number of other important songs. My daughter Minta used it to learn on and I got it back from her about 3 years ago. It is a very good guitar which I bought in L.A. from West LA Music.

Behind Blue Eyes was written by Pete Townshend for his Lifehouse project. Lifehouse was a science fiction rock opera intended as a follow-up to Tommy but was abandoned in favour of the album, Who's Next. Songs composed for the project appear on various Who albums as well as Pete Townshend solo albums and Behind Blue Eyes first appeared on the Who's Next album, along with a number of other remnants from the project. The song begins with a solo voice singing over a finger-picked acoustic guitar and later breaks out into a full-scale rock anthem.

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