Pete Townshend | Christie's

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Pete Townshend

Details

Pete Townshend
A 1967 Coral Hornet, Vincent Bell Signature Model, Serial No. 823044, in flame red finish, double cutaway body, 21 fret fingerboard with dot inlays, two pickups, two rotary controls, four switches, jack input and pearloid white pickguard; a simulated tweed rectangular hardshell case with claret coloured plush lining containing a torn fragment of a transit instruction [part of which is still glued to the base of the case and when pieced together the incomplete details read To Be Col...Mr PETER TOWNS....at NEWCASTLE AIR...Flight No. BKS...Leaving...Arrivin...]; accompanied by various documents concerning the provenance from members of the punk band The Skunks including a note from Frank Cornelli, the band's lead guitarist which states that Pete Townshend gave him this guitar in 1978 ...after signing to his Eel Pie label and releasing a single I wrote called 'Good From The Bad' which was a feature single on the John Peel Radio One Show...he [Townshend] told me that the Hornet had been used on the Who's first American Tour...We changed our band name to CRAZE when we later signed to EMI (Cobra then Harvest labels)...we...recorded an album on EMI called CRAZE on which I used this guitar and the Rickenbacker 12-string... (4)

Literature

www.punk77.co.uk/groups/skunks.doleqinterview.htm
www.thewho.net
www.whocollection.com
NEILL, Andy and KENT, Matt Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete ChroniclesOf The Who, 1958-1978, London: Virgin Books, 2002

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Further details

Pete Townshend appears to have owned at least two Coral Hornet guitars. One, a sunburst model, he smashed on stage at the Marquee Club on 23rd April, 1968 as well as a Gibson Stereo he was also using on that occasion.

Photographs taken by Chris Morphet of Townshend in his studio at Twickenham, circa 1971, show a Coral Hornet on the wall which, although in black and white, reveal that there is no graduation of shade in the finish - i.e. it is not a sunburst version, and could well be guitar in this lot.

Photograph courtesy of Chris Morphet

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Lot Essay

According to an interview with Franck Cornelli and Gerry Lambe of The Skunks in 2002, Pete Townshend first met the band when they were supporting Billy Idol's Generation X at the Vortex club in 1978. Townshend, accompanied by Keith Moon and Alex Harvey, went back stage after the gig and told the band he thought they were really good, and that he had enjoyed Cornelli's guitar work which reminded him of a young Ritchie Blackmore. He signed the band to his Eel Pie label shortly after seeing them.

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